


Knoller's Revenge

by Deborah_Jean



Series: Rare Specimens [3]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Whump, like a lot of crying actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 10:54:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 81,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deborah_Jean/pseuds/Deborah_Jean
Summary: When Snufkin and his friends broke everyone out of Knoller's museum, Knoller swore his revenge before escaping the police.Now, over a year later, he's back to make good on his promise, and he's figured out just how to do it.
Series: Rare Specimens [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027936
Comments: 107
Kudos: 70





	1. I can do this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Ready to start posting again, though I'm planning on going a little slower this time.
> 
> Hope you like it! This particular chapter ended up longer than usual. I don't think the next few are quite this long.

It had been over a year since Knollermaiden had last seen her friend Snorkmaiden.

Knollermaiden was worried about where she had gone. She had looked everywhere for Snorkmaiden’s house, but it was nowhere to be found. Not even a trace of where a house might have been taken down.

It was very distressing.

Uncle became far more irritable now that his collection was gone and he was a wanted man.

He snapped at her nearly every time she brought him food. It always scared her. 

He was always pacing. Thinking. Planning. What he was planning, she never asked.

Gib was always grumpy or bored looking. Occasionally he scowled and murmured something, but usually he was as quiet as ever.

One day, sometime recently, Knollermaiden asked her uncle if he knew where Snorkmaiden was. She’d been scared to ask for a while, but it had been so long, and she couldn’t find her friend anywhere and Uncle always seemed to know a lot.

Uncle Knoller just got mad at her, snapping worse than before, yelling that Snorkmaiden had probably been in on the plot, that it was all Knollermaiden’s fault his collection was gone because she was the one who convinced him to let Snorkmaiden in without a proper background check.

Knollermaiden was crying before the end of it, ready to just run away back home to an empty house (Knoller dismissed Ann a while ago), but then Uncle Knoller mentioned a place called Moominvalley. He’d been muttering, something about Snorkmaiden probably being from there, and how had he never seen her when he visited, and how they must have suspected him from the start and they’d all pay dearly for ruining his life.

Presently, Knollermaiden was back home. Her eyes were still a bit red from crying, and she was packing a bag. She was in the kitchen, shoving food inside.

If Snorkmaiden was in this Moominvalley, then Knollermaiden was going to go find her. She wanted dearly to see her, everything had gone all wrong since she left without a word.

Knollermaiden wasn’t sure what she was going to do with her flowers. Some of the plants were really delicate and needed daily care and she’d hate if they died while she was gone. She looked out through the kitchen window at her garden. 

She started wringing her hands a little in worry. What was she going to do with them? 

She went back to shoving food in her bag. 

Maybe she could go to the town and hire someone to look after them for her. .

Yes, that seemed best. She was still anxious; whoever she managed to get might not know how to take care of them as properly, but what else was she to do?

She finished grabbing the last few things she thought she’d need, trying to soothe her nerves by humming to herself as she went. It didn’t seem to be helping though.

She wiped her eyes on her dress sleeve as she went out the door, but then she spotted something on the porch. 

A little off-white envelope sitting on the ground. What?

What was a letter doing on the floor instead of in the mailbox? 

She picked it up confused. It was addressed to her with black-blue ink. She didn’t recognize the handwriting at all.

Who on earth could it be from? She didn’t know very many people. Most of her friends had been drifting away since she couldn’t spend much time with them anymore. That, and most had heard what her uncle did and how he was a wanted man and they didn’t seem to want to talk to her anymore. It was all very distressing. She tried not to think about it too much.

She stared at the letter for a bit longer and then glanced back at her garden. 

She would open it later on the way. Right then she needed to hire a gardener and find Snorkmaiden. She put the letter in her bag.

Knollermaiden had to drive the carriage herself. She’d gotten used to it a while ago, though sometimes she was a little wobbly.

It took a long while to get to town. She should have left earlier. It would be really late by the time she arrived. .

… 

It was days later. Knollermaiden was nearly there.

She woke up that morning very groggy, laying in the carriage with a few blankets. Fall was getting closer and closer, so the nights were getting colder.

She slowly got up and looked through her bag. She didn’t have a ton of food left, so she didn’t eat much.

She went outside and gazed apprehensively at the mountain she was going to have to climb. She wouldn’t be able to take the carriage any further.

She rubbed her eyes tiredly, gazing around.

Everything was so quiet. So. . . Empty. There were only a few trees here and there, a few bushes, some grass that got spotty the higher up the path you looked.

Knollermaiden shivered, looking around a little desolately. A chill wind blew past.

“Come on. You can do this, you can do this,” She murmured to herself a few times, getting quieter and quieter.

She put her bag over her shoulders and grabbed one of the blankets out of the carriage, wrapping it around her shoulders. It would be too heavy to bring all of them.

“I- I can do this,” she whispered nervously. She was walking now. Just one step after the other. Just don’t think about it. You can do this. It’s just a mountain. Snorkmaiden could be on the other side. You can do this.

The path steepened quite a lot. The further she went, the easier it was not to think about it. 

It did get very difficult at times, and the higher she went, the colder it got. 

Around midday, she reached a spot on the path where she could see the valley below her.

She gasped at the breathtaking sight. 

“Woah,” She murmured, taking it in. 

A few of the trees were already turning gold and scarlet, painting the forest beautifully. Little houses with chimney smoke were scattered around a little haphazardly, but it made it look so quaint and lovely. She could even see the beach from where she was, with sunlight glittering off of it as it gently lapped against the shore. There were caves, and lakes, and rivers, and She could even make out tiny, colorful flowers from so far.

She wouldn’t blame Snorkmaiden for wanting to live in a place like this. 

“Oh, I really hope you’re here,” Knollermaiden whispered to herself a bit desperately. She had no idea where else she could even look. No other leads.

Another chill wind blew and she shivered, tucking her blanket tighter around her shoulders. She started walking again.

… 

It was close to evening. She was finally really smiling again, triumphant about finishing reaching the bottom of the mountain. She really did it! She climbed a mountain!

What would they think of her now? 

A moment later her face fell. Who would be thinking of her anyway? Who did she know who would even care that she’d climbed a mountain?

Knoller and Gib wouldn’t care. Her friends didn’t talk to her anymore. Ann and Olma were long gone.

She sniffled, wiping frustratedly at tears that started sliding down her face. She paused when she thought of something.

Snorkmaiden might care. She’d always been nothing but kind to her. 

Knollermaiden straightened herself up, wiping off the last of her tears. She was going to keep going. She was going to look everywhere for her friend.

“I can do this,” She whispered to herself a few more times. She glanced around at the quickly darkening forest. It was so late already. 

It might not do to arrive at Snorkmaiden’s house so late at night. 

She was also exhausted after climbing all day and the nearest house would be another very long walk. 

She ended up bundling back into her blanket, leaning against a tree, and hoping it wouldn’t rain that night. 

Bugs chirped around her, and every so often she heard birds flapping by. She settled in very tiredly, wondering if her plants were ok without her. 

It took a little while to get comfortable on the ground, but she managed to fall asleep.

The next morning Knollermaiden woke up a bit late. She was tired and a little stiff but hopeful about the day.

She was finally going to be around people again. She was going to find Snorkmaiden again!

She started walking through the forest, wandering a little aimlessly along the path. 

For a minute she was worried about showing up at Snorkmaiden’s house unannounced like this, but then she remembered that’s exactly how Snorkmaiden found her. Snorkmaiden wouldn’t mind. 

She passed bugs, and birds, and small beasts who usually quickly retreated as she approached. She got further and further into the valley.

Then a couple of hours later, she heard some whistling. Someone was far up ahead on the path.

Knollermaiden gasped and quickened her pace. Another person!

They were quite far ahead, so it took a little while to find who was whistling. 

Finally, she spotted him.

A familiar green-clad vagabond with his pointy green hat, carrying a fishing rod in one paw and a bucket of fish in the other, whistling as he turned on to the path. 

“Snufkin?” Knollermaiden gasped, surprised.

Snufkin seemed startled at her voice. He turned and saw her. He gasped.

Knollermaiden hadn’t thought much about Snufkin over the year. She was surprised to see him here, and even more surprised at how horrified he looked at her.

She gazed, concerned, and feeling a bit jittery as he stumbled backward and dropped his stuff. She opened her mouth to say something else, but he took off, bolting down the path with truly impressive speed.

“Wait! Snufkin-” She said desperately, running a few steps, but he was already gone. She felt a horrible feeling squirming around in her stomach. Why did he look at her like that? What was happening?

Soon she was holding back tears again, staring at the ground as the horrible feeling grew worse.

She continued on walking. She desperately hoped Snorkmaiden would be here. If she was, maybe she knew Snufkin and could tell Knollermaiden why he’d reacted like that.

She kept on going, putting one foot in front of the other.

She could- She could do this. . Sh- she could. . .

………

Snufkin had been having a good day. It was one of those days where the weather was just absolutely magnificent, and the fishing had been very successful, and the forest was just beautiful, and he’d been walking all alone, enjoying himself immensely.

Now he was bolting through the forest, snagging branches and tripping occasionally, panting heavily in his effort to get away as fast as possible. 

He was more terrified than he’d been in months because she was here.

She was actually here. _His_ niece. In _MOOMINVALLEY_.

Snufkin had barely thought about him in months. Everything had been great. Everything had been back to normal. Sure he still had the occasional bad nightmare, the occasional trigger that tended to ruin his day, but he’d been doing so well for so long now.

And now it was all crashing down on him again because _his_ niece, _His Freakin Niece_ , was here.

Snufkin hadn’t even decided where he was going. His body was just instinctively going to Moominhouse.

As fast as he could. Feet pounding beneath him. Heart racing.

He didn’t stop when he spotted the house, instead putting in an extra burst of speed.

He thundered down the path, nearly tripping over himself again. A minute later he ran past his campsite. Then over the bridge.

Down through Moominmamma’s garden, up the stairs, over the porch.

He didn’t stop at the door, bursting through instead.

He didn’t even stop in the living room, instead hurdling up the stairs, running to Moomintroll’s room.

Snufkin finally stopped when he ran inside, slamming the door behind him and pushing his back against it, hyperventilating. 

Moomintroll jumped, startled from where he seemed to have been reading while sitting on his bed.

“Snufkin?” He said, surprised, gazing confusedly.

Snufkin slid down the door a little as everything came crashing down on him. 

“Sh- she’s, she’s here,” Snufkin whispered, trembling, pale in the face, pressing his back on the door. His legs were shaking especially bad after running so far so suddenly.

“What? Who?” Moomintroll said, wide-eyed and clearly confused, but also very worried about how Snufkin was acting.

“ _Knollermaiden_ ,” Snufkin said, getting even more pale, sliding down a bit more and pressing harder on the door, still hyperventilating.

Moomintroll gasped, staring agape at him for a minute before glancing out the window.

“Are you sure?” He said, standing up quickly and putting his book down. Moomintroll rushed over to the window and looked out like he was trying to spot her.

“Yes, she was right in front of me, she- she’s here, in the _valley_ ,” Snufkin stuttered shakily.

She was here. She was really here. What was she even doing here? What could she be planning? Was Knoller close behind?

Snufkin was really panicking the more he thought about it. He clutched his head between his paws, sliding down until he was crouching in front of the door, trying to take a deep breath but unable to.

Someone banged on the door really loud and Snufkin jumped, feeling it rattle on his back. He was standing again before he could process everything, cold terror running clamping around his chest and through his veins. She was out there. Or _he_ was. Banging on the door, back to get revenge-

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” Little My yelled from the other side of the door.

Snufkin gasped. It- it wasn’t him.  
He was shivering violently and sliding down, melting and curling up into a ball. He realized he was starting to sob. He still couldn’t breathe properly. _Why_ did she have to scare him like that?! 

“Little My! Why’d you do that? You’ve just scared Snufkin,” Moomintroll said a bit angrily, rushing over.

Moomintroll seemed hesitant to touch him, knowing how he was, but in the end, Moomintroll gently crouched next to him, trying to replicate how his mom gently rubbed his shoulder.

“What do you mean scared Snufkin? Is he the one slamming doors?” Little My said irritably, banging on the door again.

Snufkin startled again, gasping and trying to stop sobbing, to get himself under control, but nothing was working.

“ _Stop_ it, My!” Moomintroll yelled angrily, gently easing Snufkin away from the door, just far enough for Little My to come in.

“What are you even-” Little My was saying, but she froze when she saw Snufkin, curled up near the door, clutching his head with his paws, hyperventilating and wet faced, trying and failing to hold back strangled sobs. Moomintroll stared at her with a glare as he tried to comfort his best friend.

“What the-” She stopped, at a loss for words, taking it all in as she stared at them aghast, but mostly baffled. “ _What_ happened?”

“He saw Knollermaiden,” Moomintroll explained nervously, wondering if Snufkin would accept a hug right then.

“ _WHAT?_ ” Little My yelled, loud enough to startle Snufkin again.

“Quiet My, just stop it already,” Moomintroll glared again. “Go bring Mamma up here. And tell Pappa too, he can start preparing in case she tries anything.”

Snufkin’s lungs hurt a little. Another strangled sob choked out of him, and he shuddered, but his breathing was starting to calm down. 

As he came back to himself he became incredibly frustrated at himself for breaking down like this. He groaned, burying his head in his paws and trying to wipe all the tears off. He still took very shaky breaths, though they were intentionally long, as deep as he could get them.

Moomintroll and Little My argued a bit more, but Snufkin wasn’t fully hearing them.

Little My seemed to want to go after Knollermaiden herself, but Moomintroll argued that she should at least get Moominmamma and Moominpappa first.

A little bit later, Little My left, slamming the door behind her. Snufkin shuddered.

………. 

It was afternoon. Knollermaiden had found out where Snorkmaiden lived and she was ecstatic and nervous. 

Knollermaiden found out from a Fillyjonk woman she’d met. The Fillyjonk woman had peered at her rather oddly, saying she looked familiar, but not in a good way. Knollermaiden told the woman who she was looking for and the Fillyjonk gave her directions to Snorkmaiden’s house.

Knollermaiden walked rather quickly, even running a few steps occasionally. 

So Snorkmaiden really _did_ live in this valley. It was an enormous relief to know.

She rushed along the path, heart fluttering a little.

This was it.

Then she spotted it. A rather round, yellow house with a balcony on the top, just like the Fillyjonk described. 

Knollermaiden ran the last little bit over to it, walking up the porch. She knocked on the door with clammy paws. 

She waited with bated breath. The seconds that passed as she waited felt like eternity.

Then the door opened.

Knollermaiden felt light as a cloud. It was Snorkmaiden. She was standing right there, right in front of her after over a year!

Snorkmaiden stared at her, growing tense, her mouth slightly open. 

“ _Knollermaiden?_ ”

Knollermaiden felt her heart drop, heavy like iron at the tone of Snorkmaiden’s voice.

“How-, What are you doing here?” Snorkmaiden said sounding flabbergasted, brows creased as she took a tiny step back.

Knollermaiden didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t exactly planned much.

“Snorkmaiden, I-” She stuttered, feeling the awful squirmy feeling in her stomach. “I was worried about you, I looked for your house everywhere, I-”

Snorkmaiden stared at her, brows still very creased in disbelief.

Knollermaiden felt a crushing weight on her chest and tears forming in her eyes.

“I missed you,” Knollermaiden said, voice shaking. She hugged her arms around her chest. “Everything’s been awful since you left. And- and you never said anything, you just disappeared and I was scared. .”

Snorkmaiden seemed to be at a loss for words. 

Knollermaiden felt like the silence that stretched between them unbearable. 

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Snorkmaiden finally said a bit flatly.

“What? I- Snorkmaiden,” Knollermaiden said, flustered, the feeling in her stomach getting almost unbearable. “Why? I- I thought we were friends,” she said desperately, eyes watering.

Snorkmaiden sighed. “Oh my gosh,” she rubbed her forehead exasperatedly. “Knollermaiden, I was acting. We’re not friends.”

“ _Acting?!_ ” Knollermaiden gasped, her voice barely louder than a whisper, but very high. “But- We had so much fun, we made fish cakes and brownies, I thought you were having fun,” she trembled.

Snorkmaiden sighed again exasperatedly. She stepped outside onto the porch and closed the door behind her. “It was fun at first. I’ll admit, that first day, you were pretty cool. I really did wish you were innocent Knollermaiden. Maybe we could have been real friends,” Snorkmaiden explained.

Knollermaiden stared at her with wet eyes, her mouth slightly open as she listened.

“But I wasn’t there for _you_. I was there because your uncle kidnapped my friend. I just wanted to find Snufkin. I _really_ did wish you were innocent, but no. You weren’t,” Snorkmaiden started glaring a bit. “You were completely fine with your uncle _kidnapping_ tons of creatures and locking them up in _display cases_.”

“What? I-” Knollermaiden blubbered, processing that. Her uncle had always assured her that there was nothing wrong with his museum. That he treated the specimens fine and protected them from the world while letting more trustworthy people marvel at their majesty. 

“Uncle always said they were better off there,” Knollermaiden stuttered. 

Snorkmaiden looked flabbergasted. “Better off? You actually thought that?” She said, staring at her in disbelief, sounding mad. “Did you ever take the time to think about it? Did you ever imagine what their days were like? Being unable to move very far in a tiny cage? Being fed tiny meals only morning and evening? Being _Trained_ to be obedient no matter the circumstances? If you really believe they were better off, you are _Unbelievably_ ignorant,” Snorkmaiden said, nearly yelling.

Knollermaiden stared at her aghast. “I- I just thought,” she started, unable to find the words.

“Snufkin still gets nightmares about his time in the museum you know,” Snorkmaiden yelled, glaring. “Your Uncle did terrible things to him. Did you know it took a _month_ for his claws to grow back? And I can’t even imagine what it was like for the other creatures who were there for more than a week, gosh.”

Knollermaiden was really crying now. She fumbled for something to say but couldn’t think of anything.

Snorkmaiden watched with a flat look as Knollermaiden opened and closed her mouth a few times before just covering her mouth with her hands and shuddering.

“You should just leave. And don’t bother coming back. And if you see Snufkin, don’t you dare talk to him, just _leave_ ,” Snorkmaiden said firmly. 

Knollermaiden just stood there a minute, processing that. Snorkmaiden gave her a look. Knollermaiden sobbed, still covering her mouth, turning to leave.

She stumbled down the steps and quickened her pace. In the end, she started running, looking back once or twice, running past trees and bushes, through dirt, and past rivers.

She cried and cried and ran faster back towards the mountain. She got lost a few times, but it wasn’t too hard to spot the mountain in the distance again since it was so tall. She just ran towards it, not caring if she was on a path or not, or that her dress was getting torn and muddy.

She ran for hours and hours. The sun was setting by the time she reached the base of the mountain path and she collapsed against the tree, shaking and sobbing and legs aching from running for so long.

She stayed there, unable to move for a long time, just crying her eyes out. She probably looked like a mess, eyes red and cheeks tear-stained, fur all messy. She was only distantly aware of this, too focused on how awful she felt to care about how awful she looked.

And she was so alone. She’d been so alone for _so_ long. She missed just talking with people, just being around them and not being scared, not being wary.

She missed Olma and Ann. She missed them so badly her chest ached.

She must have stayed there for hours and hours, all alone.

She thought a lot about what Snorkmaiden said about Uncle Knoller’s museum. 

Did Snufkin really have nightmares about it? Did- did Uncle really hurt him? Surely he wouldn’t though, right? -But, Snorkmaiden wouldn’t lie to her, and Snufkin freaked out and ran away when he saw her.

Snorkmaiden had asked if Knollermaiden had ever thought about what days were like in the museum.  
She hadn’t much she supposed. Sometimes the creatures had been grumpy, or sad, or angry, or some other kind of upset, but instead of thinking of _why_ they were upset, she just tried to come up with ways of cheering them up. 

There weren’t many things she could do for them, and a vast majority of them she couldn’t even speak to since so few of them had sound holes in their cases.

Uncle Knoller always assured her they were fine. 

Today wasn’t the first time she’d doubted him though. A few particular times came up in her mind. 

Like one of the first times Uncle Knoller took her down to see the collection after she moved near him. She’d been sort of worried at first, seeing the first few ones locked up, but that was when Knoller convinced her it was for their own good. He said that some of the creatures were endangered, and some were even being hunted by poachers. They were safe down in his museum.

Then she’d seen one of the very small trolls sobbing inconsolably in the corner of his case, and she had gotten a terrible feeling in her gut. Knoller told her the troll wasn’t settled yet. That the troll’s brother had been killed by poachers and he was grieving loss, but that he would grow used to the case and grow thankful for the protection it provided.

He convinced her that day.

Then a long time later it was one of the many nights Knoller had guests over to see his collection. Knollermaiden had been enchanted by the fairies he’d brought back this time. They were just gorgeous and had the most wonderful little singing voices.

Then some of the other guests got irritable and impatient. They were rather rude to the fairies and Knollermaiden had watched from afar as one of the guests startled and scared the fairies terribly, over and over till some of the fairies were shivering and some crying, all huddled together in the back of their case.

She had begged her uncle to get the guest to stop and her uncle obliged to get her to stop worrying and fussing. She had stared at the shivering fairies for a while after, but they still looked miserable. She had wondered if they would really be ok when the other guests made them so upset so often. She gave them lots of presents and cookies and always asked nicely if she wanted them to sing, and shrugged when the fairies didn’t want to. She usually seemed to make them feel better.

Knollermaiden thought about that more. She huddled a little more under the tree, staring at nothing as she thought. 

The other guests had often seemed to be the main cause of distress among the creatures. But Uncle Knoller said he was only letting in trustworthy people see his creatures.

How did her uncle figure out who was trustworthy in the first place? Why were they always so impatient? Why were they so often cruel? How was that trustworthy?

She got more distressed as she thought about it. She shook her head and moved on to the next memory. Then the next.

She got to thinking about Snufkin. Back to the day she’d first seen him in his case. He’d been so grumpy at first, not saying a word. Then the other people came and surrounded the case and he looked so frightened and overwhelmed. She hadn’t been brave enough to really speak up and get the others to stop. She probably couldn’t have anyway. They would have just gotten annoyed and irate with her.

Later she had gotten distracted, wanting to hear his song. She had been ever so curious about him. She had forgotten a lot of her discomfort then, too focused on her curiosity.

Then he played and got all mad. He said he hated it in there and she had faltered. She started doubting Knoller again. Then the words her uncle had told her over and over again came back and she figured Snufkin hadn’t gotten settled yet. That he’d calm down. They always do. And she could help them with presents. 

Knollermaiden kept thinking back to Snufkin, over and over again. After all, she’d just seen him, and Snorkmaiden said she’d only been her friend to save him.

Knollermaiden thought about the other times she had seen him. After that first night, he’d always been so stiff and twitchy. He had been less angry so she had assumed her brownie present must have helped something.

Knollermaiden remembered what Snorkmaiden said about Snufkin having nightmares and his claws needing to grow back and how her Uncle supposedly did terrible things to him.

She felt that awful squirming feeling in her stomach come back full force. She huddled the blanket back over her shoulders.

What had her Uncle done to him? What could have happened that made him so horrified when he’d seen her?

She felt sick with dread and worry.

Knollermaiden sat there doing nothing for quite a while longer. The night went on and it got darker and darker.

She supposed she would have to leave soon and go back home. She had to start amassing and storing more food to bring to her uncle so she’d be ready when it was time to visit him.

The thought just made her feel worse. She didn’t want to go home to her big, empty house yet. She wasn’t sure if she could see her uncle after knowing he might have done such mysterious, awful things to Snufkin.

The moon shone brightly on her, lighting up the area a bit. It was really late.

Her stomach growled loudly, alerting her to how long it had been since she’d eaten. She hadn’t even really thought about it before then.

Slowly and sullenly, she pulled her bag over and dug through it, finding her food stores pretty low. She had under packed.

As she dug deeper into the bag, her hand brushed against slightly crumpled paper and she froze, suddenly remembering it. The mysterious letter.

She pulled it out despondently, gazing at the black-blue ink. The moon was just bright enough she could read it ok.

She stared at it for a while, zoning out. She just held it for quite a long time.

Usually, her curiosity would have her peeling it open immediately, but she wasn’t feeling like herself after that emotional day.

Finally, ages later, she slowly broke the seal and unfolded it, holding it in the moonlight so she could read it.

Dear Knollermaiden,

I wasn’t sure if I should write this. I’ve kept it in my pocket for months actually, wondering if I should send it or not, but if you’re reading this, then I guess I finally made up my mind.

I just wanted to say thanks. Your fish cakes were the best and Frank and I actually kinda miss them a little.  
You always asked nicely and let us refuse performance when we wanted.

You were the only tolerable thing in that hell hole of a museum.

Thanks.

-Lachlan, the boy who never drowns

Knollermaiden stared dumbfounded at the letter for ages. The boy who never drowned wrote to her? And he missed her fishcakes, her baking-

_-The only tolerable thing in that hell hole of a museum._

Knollermaiden grimaced at the words. She tucked her knees close to her chest, hugging them, and still clutching the letter in one hand. 

This just helped confirm what she had been dreading. He never got “settled”. The guests treated him horribly. He thought of the museum like a hell hole.

What in the world was she going to do? How could she fix this? She didn’t think she could fix this. The damage was already done. If she could just go back in time somehow and tell Knoller how awful everything was, convince him that they’d just be miserable, not safe in his museum. If she’d spoken up then maybe, just maybe. . .

She fell into an uneasy, restless sleep that night. 

The next morning she woke late and groggy, staring desolately at nothing for a long time before finally getting up to leave.

She stared miserably at the mountain. She had been so proud when she first conquered it. Now she would have to again, and there was absolutely no one who would care.

Ages later, she set out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends the first chapter of _Knoller's Revenge_.
> 
> Also, Happy Holidays!


	2. A Lonely Extrovert and a Tired Introvert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The name says it all. Knollermaiden is lonely and Snufkin is tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, my sister's favorite character is Knollermaiden. So she's been bugging me incessantly on how I've been treating her. It's annoying, but also hilarious so it's fine, lol

Snorkmaiden went to find the others to tell them about Knollermaiden’s visit very soon after it had happened. 

Honestly, that girl was unbelievable.

Snorkmaiden got to Moominhouse to find Moominpappa and Little My out in the yard setting up traps of some kind.

Inside, Moominmamma was preparing the best calming tea she knew and she told Snorkmaiden that Snufkin was up in Moomintroll’s room, practically barricading himself inside.

That had been concerning, made worse when Moominmamma informed her to be careful not to bang on the door or startle him too badly.

Snorkmaiden was putting the two and two together as she cautiously ascended up the stairs. She wasn’t totally certain though until she was inside Moomintroll’s room and found Snufkin bundled in Moomintroll’s blanket, curled up by the window, staring with wide eyes at absolutely nothing while Moomintroll sat next to him.

“You saw her didn’t you?” Snorkmaiden said, hiding the anger in her voice well. 

Snufkin glanced up at her and nodded.

“You saw her too? Did Mamma tell you what happened?” Moomintroll asked anxiously.

“She came knocking on my door,” Snorkmaiden put her paws on her hips, glaring a little at the wall. Snufkin and Moomintroll both looked worried for a minute. “No, don’t worry. I don’t think we’ll be seeing her again for a long time,” she said seriously.

They both looked incredibly confused, though a bit hopeful.

Snorkmaiden went on to tell them about Knollermaiden’s visit, how weird it had been, and how infuriatingly ignorant Knollermaiden was.

She told them about how she told Knollermaiden to leave and the girl left crying, back towards the mountain.

“She left? She really just left?” Snufkin murmured, with wide eyes.

“It sure seemed like she did. Though, I wouldn’t put it past her to double back somewhere. We can look around the valley to make sure, and tell people to keep an eye out for her,” Snorkmaiden said, thoughtfully.

“We should absolutely do that,” Moomintroll said a little urgently. He had a look on his face that Snorkmaiden didn’t need translation to understand. They’d be keeping an extra close eye out for the uncle too.

Snorkmaiden nodded. “I’ll go tell the others. Are you guys staying here?”

They both confirmed that and Snorkmaiden left.

The search didn’t turn up anything. It just made everyone in the valley on edge. No one was found, no Knollermaiden, no Knoller, no Gib, nothing suspicious.

As weeks passed, Snufkin was more on edge than ever. He was by far the most frustrated at this backward development, messing up simple things and just keeping him from getting back to life properly. 

It was especially difficult getting proper alone time with how on edge, and nervous he was and how clingy and protective some people were getting.

The Moomin family and friends hadn’t given much thought to Knollermaiden over the past year, focusing on the far worse villain, but everyone was slowly starting to resent her for causing such mental havoc so suddenly.

It was truly, immensely aggravating.

Fall went on, sliding in slowly. Things started getting better, but it took a long time.

Things were settling. 

People were getting less nervous. They moved on to other things. They all reminded themselves how Knoller would be a fool for trying anything here in their valley since they’d recognize him so fast. 

He couldn’t come. He wouldn’t come. He’d be a fool to try.

But boy, how wrong they were.

………

Knollermaiden was sitting at the table on her porch, her top half leaning and laying over it, staring, despondently, zoned out at the wall of her house.

Over a month had passed since her disastrous trip to Moominvalley.

A cold breeze blew past and she shivered, but she couldn’t bother going back inside. 

Her gardening gloves were tucked into her apron, her watering can on the floor nearby with a few other gardening tools.

Nowadays, when she wasn’t zoned out, dissociating at a wall somewhere, she was gardening.

Gardening was still kind of nice, but it didn’t ease the cold, aching loneliness. 

Even after all this time, she didn’t think she would ever get used to it, the crushing, aching, hollow feeling that was just made worse by the beautiful house that was just too big for her.

Some of the rooms were so big she couldn’t even look at them anymore. 

A clock chimed the hour somewhere nearby, snapping Knollermaiden out of her current stupor. She was going to have to go to town to pick up more food soon.

She shrank in on herself a little. She didn’t want to go. She knew for sure why everyone hated her now. She could barely stand going among them when she knew she would be ignored for the most part and that she deserved it. 

It was a very different sort of loneliness, being around people, but it was just as bad as the current kind. 

Eventually, a very long time later, she finally did manage to force herself out of her chair and clean up her things. She didn’t have much choice. Uncle was expecting her. He’d get upset if she was late or didn’t bring enough food. .

She slowly got ready to go, grabbing a coat to ward off the chill in the air.

On her way through the kitchen to get to the foyer, she paused when she spotted her letter. The one from Lachlan. The boy who never drowned. 

She had left it on the kitchen counter and often paused to stare at it when she passed.

It was kind of like her garden, the only other thing that didn’t make her feel terrible. 

Instead, it made her feel kind of mushy inside. There was at least one person out there, one person who didn’t hate her, who liked her gifts, who hadn’t berated her, or yelled at her and scared her regularly. 

One person who she couldn’t find even the barest hint of where he might be.

She sighed deeply, giving it one last longing glance before heading out the door towards the carriage.

…

The next night, Knollermaiden was in the carriage again, driving back to Knoller’s latest hideout. He hadn’t been able to stay in her parents' old house for long. The police found out it had belonged to Knoller’s relatives and of course searched it.

Knoller’s latest hideout was actually rather close to Moominvalley. It was a tumbledown shack with a caved-in roof that made the attic mostly unusable, and it only had three other rooms. 

It was greatly hidden in the forest. Knollermaiden had to park the carriage very far away. She had to pull the heavy sack of food over her shoulder and trek on foot the rest of the way.

She was extra nervous about this time. Knoller only had her bring him food once a month or so, so this would be the first time she’d seen him since she went to Moominvalley.

She wanted to ask him about the museum, but she was scared to. She didn’t want him to get mad at her again. And what if he really did do terrible things? What could she do then? He. . He was the only family she had left- He always told her she had to stick with him. . .

She got to the shack after a half-hour walk and went inside.

She didn’t hear Uncle Knoller pacing in his study. She didn’t hear Gib snacking in the big room. 

She quickly found the place to be completely empty. Before she could panic too much though, she found a note left for her.

Niece,

Gib and I are out. We’ve finally got the plan and Lakeworth has finally agreed to ally with us and send supplies. We’ll be gone for a while, but we’ll be back before your next visit. Leave the food in the storeroom and go home.

Burn this letter after you read it. Right Now.

-Uncle

Knollermaiden had been relieved at first that she wouldn’t really have to see her Uncle for another month, but it was quickly stomped out with worse anxiety.  
What plan was he talking about? 

She was absolutely sure it couldn’t be good. After all, he’d always been so angry while he paced around planning.

Knollermaiden looked around and saw a stack of wood planks and nails by one wall. That hadn’t been there last time.

Another odd thing she found was a strip of leather sitting on the table that looked kind of like a collar. 

She put the food in the storeroom next to her Uncle’s office, trying to think if she could remember the name Lakeworth. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She thought it was likely one of Uncle Knoller’s friends back before he was a wanted man. . .

She found a match and lit the note on fire, putting it in the mostly empty, cold fireplace.

She left feeling jumpy and jittery, and worse than ever.

……… 

Snufkin was sitting alone, on a big rocky hill with a view of the beach. He sighed, trying to relax, closing his eyes, feeling the wind, and breathing in the scents of the sea. No one knew where he was. He didn’t want them to know.

Nowadays he was always straining to get the time he needed. He was constantly running low on his social battery. Everyone was just so clingy with him it was suffocating.

He’d been avoiding them for over three days now, fed up with it.

He never went too far away though. He wasn’t quite ready for the uncertainty that could bring, even after over a month since Knollermaiden’s visit. 

But fall was progressing. He would be expected to leave the valley entirely soon. They wouldn’t even be too surprised if he left tomorrow. And he wanted to go, _really_ he did. He’d been in Moominvalley so long now, he was starting to feel the ache in his bones to get up and move, to explore somewhere else, and he still couldn’t stand just hibernating all winter.

But the valley was like a safety net. He wasn’t sure he’d be ready to leave it when the time came. Knollermaiden’s visit had hit a chord in him that brought back painful fears all too clearly.

Snufkin groaned frustratedly, leaning back and lying on the hill.

Why did she have to come at a time like this? Why did she have to ruin what he’d been trying to fix for so long?

I mean really, if she _had_ to have come, couldn’t it have been in springtime so he’d have months to get himself back together? This was just the worst possible time to bring up bad memories.

He stayed there on the hill for hours before he pulled himself up. He walked down the hill to a little cave where he’d stashed his things. He grabbed his fishing pole and headed to a little boat, pushing it out of the cave and across the sand so he could go catch his dinner on the ocean.

The boat rocked beneath him in the gentle waves. His thoughts drifted back to his predicament often.

He’d been tossing around an idea for a little while now. 

He could send a note to his Dad and ask him to come with him like last year, at least until he was comfortable by himself again.

If he did send a note, he’d have to do it soon if he wanted it to have even the chance of reaching Joxter in time. Who knew where Joxter could be this time of year? Snufkin wasn’t even sure where to send it.

It was quite a predicament. 

He felt a bite pulling on his rod. He’d caught something.

Snufkin pulled it up and it was big enough for his dinner that night. 

Not too long later he could be seen rowing back to shore. That is if there was anyone around to see it at all.

Later he was stoking a fire he’d made, the fish roasting over it. He wasn’t in the mood for stew that night.

He gazed at the soft, orange glow of the fire and thought more.

He supposed the best place to send a letter would be to Mymble’s house. If Joxter wasn’t there, then Snufkin just wouldn’t be able to reach him. And he’d either have to go alone or stay and hibernate. 

He grimaced.

Later that night, after he finished eating, he went ahead and wrote the letter. He figured he’d walk it to the post office the next day. He’d be sneaky about it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be around other people again yet.

He decided to sleep under the stars that night, gazing at them for a long time before finally drifting off.

....

Snufkin woke up with the sun the next morning, bright and early. He made coffee at the fire, sitting and drinking it peacefully while the cool wind blew past.

He could hear the ocean and smell the salt. He was in the grass between two hills, but he could see where the sand started from where he was sitting.

He closed his eyes and let himself relax, sipping his coffee.

The air was fresh, the morning bright, and it was just nice to be out.

Later when he was packing up his things, he found the note he'd written the night before.

He sat down and stared at it for a little while. He should send it soon.

Later though.

He would do it that afternoon, or maybe that evening.

Snufkin stuck it in his pocket and finished putting away the rest of his stuff before slinging the backpack over his shoulders.

He walked out along the beach for a little while, debating going in but ultimately deciding it would be too cold this time of year. 

He continued wandering around for quite a long time, eventually away from the beach and towards some mountains. He nearly decided to climb one, but ultimately decided against it. Too far right now.

He wandered around one of the many forests. Nowadays there was barely any green left in the leaves. It was rather beautiful in a way, so much scarlet, yellow, and orange, with shades of brown and purple mixed around.

There were a few big piles of leaves around that one could slip and fall into if one wasn’t careful. 

Snufkin decided to take out his harmonica and play for a bit as he walked. He fiddled around with some notes, experimenting with a new tune. Then he played a few old ones.

Some birds joined in, chirping for a bit before flying away. 

Later he started feeling like he was being watched. He stopped playing and looked around, listening attentively.

He didn’t spot anyone. He didn’t hear anyone. Just the wind moving some leaves, and birds flapping around occasionally.

He stayed in that spot for a little while, putting away his harmonica. This was a little nerve-wracking.

The feeling didn’t go away. His imagination started getting out of hand, making him more nervous.

He got frustrated with himself for being scared. 

“Oh, get a hold of yourself,” he muttered annoyedly to himself, continuing on. “It’s probably just another small beast who’ll leave soon enough. Or it’s nothing.”

He repeated that in his mind a few times as he went. It didn’t help much though. He just got more frustrated with himself the more nervous he got.

Around midday, he foraged around for edible mushrooms and berries instead of cooking anything. 

He washed them in the nearby stream and sat under a tree to eat them, leaving his pack sitting next to him.

Afterward, he found himself holding and staring at the note for Joxter again. He really should send it soon. It was already midday and it had a long way to go.

He sighed to himself.

A twig snapped nearby, startling him.

Snufkin stood up, putting the letter back in his pocket, looking around anxiously. The way it snapped sounded like something much heavier than a small beast.

His shoulders were rather tense as he glanced around, ears flicking a little.

“Miss us?”

Snufkin jumped at the familiar voice, whipping around to see Knoller coming out from behind a nearby tree.

Snufkin gaped at him, horrified, stumbling backward, feeling his heart rate accelerating.

Knoller stalked towards him, wearing thick clothing and gloves, staring at him, amused at the reaction he was getting.

Snufkin was frozen in shock, barely stumbling away, processing and trying to find his voice among the sheer terror that gripped his chest tight like shackles.

“We missed you,” Knoller glared, walking faster towards him.

Snufkin’s legs got the message before his head did, turning to run, but Gib was there behind him.

Snufkin nearly jumped out of his skin, startled at how close he was. He only barely lunged to the side before Gib could grab him, his body acting without him thinking.

Only problem was he didn’t land standing up, ending up in a pile of leaves and sliding a little bit.

His heart leaped in his throat as Knoller and Gib ran towards him. Snufkin scrambled to his feet, kicking leaves everywhere, panting and bolting away as fast as he could.

No, no, no, this couldn’t be real- this was a nightmare, they couldn’t be here, _No-_

Snufkin stumbled over a rock, barely catching himself on a nearby tree but slipping a little on the leaves and nearly falling anyway.

He glanced back, gasping sharply at how close Gib was, Knoller not too far behind.

Snufkin didn’t stop, terror running through his veins, dodging around bushes, over more slippery leaf piles, between large boulders.

A low tree branch knocked his hat off. He panicked, reaching for it, but Gib was _gaining_ on him. Man, that guy was fast. 

Snufkin left it, feet pounding beneath him as he put in an extra burst of speed.

He realized he was going to have to leave a mark on the ground. 

Gib was catching up. If he got- If, if he got _caught_ , Moomintroll and the others wouldn’t know they need to find him. It was _fall_ for goodness sake!

That thought just made him more terrified. He was pale, sweating, hyperventilating, scrambling across the ground and trying not to slip.

Adrenaline surged through him as he kept on, dodging more bushes and jumping over a small stream.

He got to a place with softer dirt and stomped a bootprint into the ground, making a quick messy circle around it, then scrambling in another direction, but then Gib caught up, leaped at Snufkin, and shoved him to the ground.

Snufkin yelled in alarm, stunned a bit by the landing, but it was like his voice was unclogged. 

“NO! Get _off_ me,” He yelled frantically, as loud as he could, kicking and pulling, trying to get whatever leverage he could, still panting heavily.

Gib grabbed his arms, grunting and pinning Snufkin down on the ground as best he could.

Snufkin took the deepest breath he could

_“HEELLLP-”_

Gib cut him off by slapping his paw over Snufkin’s mouth, but that meant Snufkin had an arm free.

Still hyped on adrenaline, Snufkin punched Gib as hard as he could in the face, kicking him and managing to roll both of them to the side. Gib was a bit stunned and Snufkin scrambled to sit up, but Gib still held one of his arms tight.

Snufkin tried yanking away as hard as he could, hurting his arm in the process but barely noticing. He continued yelling frantically, as loud as he could for help, praying someone was close enough to hear him.

Knoller caught up, approaching Snufkin from behind and quick as a snake, slid his arm around Snufkin’s neck, yanking him backward.

Snufkin let out a strangled sound, choking for air, grabbing Knoller’s arm with white knuckles and desperately trying to loosen his grip as Knoller backed up a few steps.

“Empty his pockets,” Knoller said shortly as Snufkin writhed in his grip.

“No,- _no_ -” Snufkin barely choked out, trying to kick Gib as he got up and approached, but Snufkin was too busy trying to get air back in his lungs to kick very hard.

Gib’s paws slid roughly into Snufkin’s pockets one at a time, pulling out every odd thing he kept in there and dumping it on the ground.

“What’s this thing then?” Knoller muttered as Snufkin desperately dug his claws into Knoller’s gloves. Knoller walked a few steps over to the mark Snufkin had made in the dirt.

Snufkin choked on a gasp, getting even paler and struggling harder.

“What do you think, Gib?” Knoller said. “Could be some kind of secret message,” He said thoughtfully, hoisting Snufkin up a bit higher.

Gib only grunted.

“Stop- _No_ ,” Snufkin gasped for breath, heart hammering in his chest. 

Knoller rubbed his foot over the mark, smoothing out the dirt until there was no trace of it.

Snufkin felt his stomach drop sickeningly and he resumed struggling even harder and more frantic than before.

“Oh, don’t like that, huh? Well, what was it for then, Snufkin?” Knoller said, roughly turning Snufkin around and shoving him against a thick tree, his big paw holding Snufkin’s neck, pinning him against the tree but giving him just enough breathing room to answer. “If it’s important enough, maybe we’ll make it again? Can’t be too hard,” Knoller grinned.

Snufkin writhed against the tree, gasping for breath and panting, desperately pulling and clawing at Knoller’s paw. He tried yelling for help again, as loud as he could, but Knoller glared and gave his neck a squeeze, cutting him off.

“Not going to give me a straight answer?” Knoller said with a flat look, loosening his grip just a tad to give Snufkin one more chance. 

“No!” Snufkin yelled, giving Knoller a hard kick that made Knoller grimace and look annoyed. Knoller tightened his grip again just as Snufkin tried to yell for help again, effectively silencing him.

“Oh well. Gib,” Knoller said in a commanding voice. Gib grabbed a familiar cloth out of his pocket, walked forward, and roughly shoved it in Snufkin’s mouth. Snufkin thrashed about as much as he could as Gib tied the gag on tight over top.

Knoller finally stopped choking Snufkin and instead grabbed him around the waist, pinning Snufkin’s arms to his sides, and hoisting him under one arm similar to that day in Knoller’s garden.

Snufkin writhed and kicked, frantically trying to pull his arms free, but Knoller’s grip was as tight and unyielding as ever. His chest was heaving as he gasped for air through the cloth and his heart was pounding almost painfully in his chest.

He tried yelling through the gag as Knoller and Gib took off through the forest with him.

He squirmed around as best he could, doing _anything_ he could think of to get free, he couldn’t just let them carry him off to whatever revenge they were planning

They ran and ran, through the forest, over a stream, towards the edge of the valley. Knoller wasn’t particularly careful with him, sometimes running close enough to bushes and things that Snufkin got whacked or scratched as they passed.

Snufkin’s chest hurt and ached badly from all the trouble breathing, and his waist and arms were being squeezed by Knoller’s arm painfully tight. His muscles ached and grew sore the further they went as he kept trying to struggle free. 

He couldn’t stop, no matter how much his muscles shook from the strain, he couldn’t stop fighting.

No one else knew where he was. No one would know to look for him, they would assume he left for his winter travels. They might not really think to start looking for him till next _summer!_

He could _not_ get stuck with Knoller and Gib that long! Just a little over a week had been almost torture before, and that time Knoller didn’t have a personal grudge against him for ruining his life.

Snufkin grew more terrified at that thought, squirming harder and panting heavily through the gag. A minute later he was sagging from the effort, gasping. His arms were trembling from the strain.

Knoller hoisted Snufkin up a little higher and clutched him even tighter. Snufkin grimaced hard, the pain making his eyes sting and water. He swallowed down a lump in his throat.

They just kept on going and going, further away from the valley, running, and then walking, and then running for a while again as the sun got lower and lower in the sky.

Snufkin tried to keep struggling, but adrenaline doesn’t last forever and he was becoming increasingly aware of how his muscles ached. He kept trying, but he sagged from the effort more often and for longer stretches of time.

Soon he wasn’t just trembling from exhaustion, but also from rising fear that he wasn’t getting away, they were really kidnapping him again, they were taking him somewhere and they were _mad_ , They,- they could hurt him, they _would_ hurt him, he was trapped-

A trembling, terrified, strangled sob rose in his throat and he did anything he could to keep it down. He _Could Not_ break down in front of them, he couldn’t stand the thought.

His face was already wet though. He’d been so focused on his thoughts he hadn’t noticed till then.

He trembled more sagging yet again and feeling blood rushing to his head uncomfortably. 

The sky was getting darker and darker and they kept moving.

The later it got the more exhausted Snufkin got, but he still couldn’t give up yet.

They just kept going, and going, and going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Snufkin. . .


	3. This Can't be Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin arrives at Knoller's hideout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's cold where I live! It's exciting!!  
> Not that cold though. Like around 60 degrees fahrenheit. That's cold where I live.
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> Onto the chapter!

It was nearly morning by the time they got to a tumbledown shack in a forest outside the valley.

Snufkin hadn’t slept at all the whole night there. He was exhausted and more sore than ever. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had bruises where Knoller had been gripping him so tight for so long.

His body needed to sleep badly, but his mind couldn’t settle down, too terrified of what might happen.

Knoller and Gib were pretty tired too as they walked up to the door and let themselves in.

Snufkin actually recognized the shack. He’d come across it years ago while exploring. There hadn’t been anything very interesting about it though. 

It was very different from what he remembered now. Before it had been empty and super dirty. Now it had been cleaned up and there were supplies around, as well as a dirty, worn couch with a spring coming out, and a table in one corner. There were also a few papers pinned to the walls.

Knoller walked tiredly over to a wall that was mostly clear of supplies and dropped Snufkin unceremoniously on the floor.

Snufkin made a muffled sound of surprise through the gag, landing on his hands and knees. He was too stunned at first to do anything, but a minute later he had scrambled to his feet.

Knoller was still standing in front of him, blocking the way towards the door, raising an eyebrow like he was daring Snufkin to try something.

Snufkin was incredibly tense, staring up at him and trying to stop shaking so bad.

Gib was approaching them with a coil of thick rope.

Snufkin’s heart pounded in his chest. His chest was heaving. He tried leaping under Knoller’s arm, darting towards the door, but Knoller snatched the back of his smock and jerked him back.

“Hold still you,” Knoller murmured, grabbing his arms. Snufkin frantically pulled and jerked trying to get away. Meanwhile, Gib slung one end of the rope around Snufkin’s neck, tying it so it didn’t choke him, but he couldn’t pull it over his head.

Knoller let go of Snufkin and took the other end of the rope. It was almost like a leash.

Snufkin tried to scramble away, holding and pulling at the rope around his neck. Knoller didn’t have much trouble dragging him closer to the wall, reaching up and sliding the end of the rope through an iron ring bolted to the wall. He tied it tightly so Snufkin was practically leashed to the wall and well and truly stuck.

Knoller and Gib went and sat tiredly on the couch. Knoller chuckled.

Snufkin pulled at the rope, scratching it, but it was extra thick and the fibers didn’t feel right. His claws weren’t cutting it. And the knot was enormous and complicated. 

Snufkin tried his hand at untangling the knot, but he could barely see it and didn’t get anywhere with it for the longest time. 

He stared up at the iron ring. The knot up there looked much more manageable, but it was well above his head with no chance of him reaching it.

Snufkin stopped messing with the rope long enough to pull off his gag and spit out the rag. He gasped for breath, frustratedly balling them up and throwing them as far away as he could.  
Knoller gazed at him lazily, smirking.

Snufkin resumed pulling and clawing at the rope, panting, and grunting, and making frustrated noises.

Knoller watched him struggling for a while.

“Having fun?” Knoller finally said later, propping up his cheek with his paw and looking very amused and self-satisfied.

Snufkin glared furiously at him, though he was still shaking really badly.

His body sagged terribly from exhaustion and his muscles only got more sore the more he tried to get free.

Knoller watched Snufkin continue to wear himself out.

Meanwhile, Gib got up to grab a snack before plopping right back on the couch.

Snufkin lost track of the time as he continued trying to get away. It must have been a long time. Hours even.

A while later his body couldn’t keep going. He was shaking worse than ever, his knees were weak, and he knew he was about to collapse. 

Snufkin leaned against the wall, sliding down, sitting and cradling his head in his paws and trembling madly. 

His muscles ached terribly and his limbs felt like jelly. He was overtired, but his mind was still freaking out. He needed to sleep badly, but he couldn’t like this, trapped in a room with the person he’d been having nightmares about for a whole year.

Snufkin couldn’t stand this. Knoller was going to enact some kind of horrible revenge on him. He had no idea what was going to happen, what they were going to do to him. All he could be sure of was that it would be absolutely awful and his friends might not even think to come for him for months. 

That thought was back. 

If he couldn’t get himself out of here, he could be there for _months!_ And that was only if Knoller’s revenge plan didn’t involve killing him.

Snufkin took a shaky, terrified breath.

“Step one complete,” Knoller murmured to himself, grinning. “Sleep well little half breed. You’ll probably need it.”

Snufkin stared at him with wide eyes. This couldn’t be real. This had to be a nightmare.

Knoller got more comfortable on the couch. It looked like he might just sleep there.

Knoller didn’t go to sleep though. He kept his eye on Snufkin. Gib fell asleep, snoring a little, but Knoller stayed up, keeping an eye on the prisoner.

Snufkin didn’t hold his gaze for long. He mostly zoned out at the floor, imagination running rampant and just scaring him worse. 

It must have been at least an hour of silence later when a question escaped his mouth.

“What are you going to do to me?” Snufkin said, barely above a whisper, immediately wishing he could take back the words, dreading the answer.

Knoller’s smile widened. “I actually spent a _long_ time deciding that.” Knoller sat up a little, looking like he was recalling good memories.

“I did think about killing you, you know,”

Snufkin froze up, heart pounding.

“But you really are rare. That would be like destroying an expensive artifact. Just wasteful,” Knoller wrinkled his nose a little. “Oh no. I came up with something _much_ better.”

Knoller stood up, walking around dramatically and menacingly as he continued. “You know what I’m going to do Snufkin? I’m going to alter and finish your training. You did say quite passionately that one time that you weren’t an animal, weren’t a pet, weren’t something to be owned,” Knoller stalked closer, towering over the small Mumrik.

Snufkin stared agape up at him, pressing his back against the wall.

“Well, you are now Snufkin. You’re going to do exactly as I say and you _will_ be _**Mine.**_ ”

Those words sent a wave of ice through his body, clamping down painfully tight around his chest.

Snufkin shook his head, trembling worse. “No, _no!_ You can’t- I would never-” He stumbled, starting to get angry, but Knoller cut him off by laughing rather loudly.

“You’d _never_ , you say? You don’t think I can convince you? You don’t think I can break you? Intentionally or not, you taught me exactly how to push your buttons last year, Snufkin. I know your priorities,” Knoller tapped his head, knowingly. 

Snufkin’s breath hitched as Knoller leaned closer to him. Snufkin felt the wall pressed hard against his back.

“I _will_ break you in Snufkin. I just need to finish what I already started,” Knoller said in a low voice, almost whispering, and grinning madly.

Snufkin stared at him white-faced and horrified as Knoller walked back and sat on the couch again.

He couldn’t get those words out of his head.

Knoller continued watching him, clearly enjoying the terror going across Snufkin’s face as he processed the threat.

Snufkin buried his face in his knees, clutching the top of his head, chest heaving, wishing he had his hat to hide behind.

This was worse than all of his nightmares combined, this was _real_. He’d never even thought about Knoller trying to finish his training. 

Knowing was much worse than imagining had been. Knoller’s threats stuck to him as if Knoller had personally carved them into his skin.

A lump rose terribly high in his throat and Snufkin fought to swallow it down, trembling harder and clutching his hair tight.

He had no idea how long it was, but a while later his body finally shut down and he fell asleep. He didn’t even recall being anymore sleepy.

Just sitting up terrified one second, then slumped over a little and passed out from terrible exhaustion and stress the next.

Knoller chuckled.

... 

The next morning Snufkin was startled awake by a loud banging noise. He accidentally banged his head on the wall, jolting awake, mind going on overdrive and heart pounding.

He spotted Gib across the room, hammering wooden planks together. A little ways away, Knoller was at the table, scribbling something down on paper.

Snufkin watched with wide eyes for a bit, his imagination going on overdrive on what things they could be doing and how it could relate to training him.

Just the thought sent a wave of ice through his body.

His paws were shaking really badly as he reached up to grab at the rope leashed around his neck again.

His muscles still ached some as he clawed at it, trying to undo the knot.

He kept at it for what felt like a really long time, getting increasingly frustrated with it.

He heard Knoller chuckling again. Snufkin looked up and saw Knoller staring smugly at him again.

Snufkin tried to ignore him, gritting his teeth tightly as his paws continued to shake, desperately doing whatever he could to get free.

Knoller folded up the paper he’d been writing on and walked over to Gib.

“Go take this to Lakeworth, quick. I’ll finish this,” Knoller said, taking the hammer and handing Gib the note.

Gib nodded, shrugging a little, and took off outside.

Knoller picked up another plank of wood and a handful of nails. He continued building whatever it was Gib had been working on.

Snufkin stared at it aghast as he went and Snufkin was now able to see what it was.

He was building a big cage. A very strong, very secure one by the look of it.

Knoller kept working on it. Snufkin was frozen for a while, staring at it taking shape, wondering anxiously how it would contribute to training him. Surely they were going to lock him up in it, right?

Snufkin’s paws were clammy as he snapped out of his frozen stupor and continued trying to get the knot out.

Terrible dread swam around in his stomach.

For hours neither of them spoke, both absorbed in their tasks

The cage was taking shape, but Snufkin was still getting nowhere. 

A long time later, Knoller stopped for lunch.

Snufkin watched him warily for a minute before continuing to struggle with the rope.

Knoller watched him as he ate, staring lazily like he was enjoying the show.

Snufkin kept trying to ignore him.

Then a while later he heard Knoller’s footsteps approaching him. Snufkin snapped his head up, heart leaping in his throat as he scrambled backward a bit at Knoller’s approach.

Knoller chuckled at the reaction he was getting. He leaned down and set a cup of water on the ground.

“It’ll taste a bit weird, but we filter it,” Knoller shrugged, walking back over towards the cage.

Snufkin stared at him, chest heaving a bit again. He stared warily at the cup. His brain told him to leave it or throw it, but his throat complained thirstily.

He stared at it for the longest time as Knoller continued his work.

“It’s not poison, you know,” Knoller said, startling Snufkin. Knoller was grinning again. “I told the truth when I said I wasn’t going to kill you.”

Knoller went back to what he was doing and Snufkin stared at his back.

It might have been a whole hour of indecision later when Snufkin finally grabbed the cup, his body complaining too loudly its need for water.

He drank it all and held the cup in his paw. He thought about chucking the empty cup at Knoller, but then a thought about the kind of retaliation that might get flared up and Snufkin and froze, a little panicked.

A while later he threw it at a wall instead before burying his head in his knees again.

Later he was messing with the rope again. 

A few more hours passed before Gib returned with a big wheelbarrow and a few things inside that Snufkin couldn’t quite see from where he was.

Knoller seemed very pleased. He mentioned something about going out for step two of the plan.

Going out. . . Were they just going to leave Snufkin there by himself?

They didn’t go yet though. They finished building the cage and had dinner.

Knoller gave Snufkin a roll of bread and another cup of water.

Snufkin stared at it sullenly for a long time. Knoller and Gib were talking.

“I’m still wondering about that circle with the bootprint,” Knoller murmured, giving Snufkin the side-eye.

Snufkin tensed up as he heard this. Knoller seemed to notice.

“Wonder how they’d react if we made it where they could find it?” Knoller said, rubbing his chin and smirking at Snufkin. 

Gib shrugged and mumbled something. 

Snufkin stared intensely at the floor, trying not to react. If,- if they _did_ make it, Moonintroll would know he should find him. He might not be stuck for months on end if he didn’t manage to get out by himself. 

If Knoller knew what it really meant though, he would never make it.

“It might help lure them,” Knoller murmured.

_Lure them?!_

Snufkin snapped his head up without thinking. _What?!_

Knoller grinned knowingly at his reaction.

“What are you- _what?_ ” Snufkin fumbled, pressing his back against the wall

“You haven’t put it together yet?” Knoller grinned at him. Knoller then turned his back to Snufkin, ignoring him and finishing his dinner. 

He and Gib moved on to other more mundane topics of conversation.

Snufkin’s imagination once again made everything worse for quite a long time. He was thoroughly freaking out, having a guess to the kind of people Knoller might be luring.

Ages later, his body loudly demanded he finally pick up the food and stop starving himself.

He ate it quickly, chucking the empty water cup at the couch, and resuming his futile attempts to undo the knot leashing him to the wall.

The water had tasted a tiny bit different from before. .

Knoller was watching him closely again. It looked like they were getting ready to walk out the door, but they stalled.

A while later Snufkin started feeling drowsy. He wasn’t expecting this. He had been tired before, but wide awake and still terrified.

Now he felt really heavy and his vision was spinning a little.

His brain screamed that something was very wrong. His eyes were having trouble staying open.

The water.

It had tasted off.

Knoller said he wouldn’t poison him, but he must have spiked it with _something_ this time.

Internally, Snufkin was practically screaming at himself for being so stupid, while externally he got more and more drowsy, starting to crumple over to the side.

Knoller slowly walked over. Snufkin’s heart thudded terribly in his chest. He tried to crawl away but his limbs were barely responding.

Knoller’s voice was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.

“Sleep tight, little half breed. . .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Knoller's an interesting character to write.
> 
> Hope whatever holidays you're celebrating this year are Magnificent! Have fun, and drink some water


	4. The Breaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Amelia! Here's your present. A new chapter. I got you absolutely nothing else.  
> lol, j.k. I'm ready for this.
> 
> Hope this isn't too painful. It should only be the _just right_ amount of painful.

Moomintroll was somewhat upset and rather bored. 

He was currently sitting on the bridge by his house, occasionally grabbing a rock from a pile next to him and chucking it boredly into the water.

Sometimes he glanced at Snufkin’s empty campsite. The reason for both of his moods. Snufkin had disappeared about five days ago and still wasn’t back.

Moomintroll had found a circle drawn in the dirt the first morning he awoke to Snufkin’s tent being gone. It had been in the middle of the abandoned campsite. The symbol inside had meant Snufkin was still in the valley which meant he hadn’t quite left for his winter travels yet, which was a great relief.

But Moomintroll was still worried. Snufkin had been the most affected by Knollermaiden’s visit. Moomintroll knew he was having a worse time than he led on.

Moomintroll sighed. It was difficult being patient sometimes. He did know why Snufkin had left though. It hadn’t been very hard to figure out. 

Moomintroll was a little worried he himself had been part of the problem. He might have been a bit more clingy than usual lately. He wasn’t the only one though.

Moomintroll didn’t exactly realize it yet, but he himself had been a bit more affected by Knollermaiden’s visit than he let on too. He was always checking around, glancing around nervously for Knoller and his guards. He was too often trying to reassure Snufkin and others that Knoller couldn’t be around.

Moomintroll was always thinking Snufkin had it worse than him, and sure he did, but Moomintroll hadn’t realized that that didn’t mean his own fears and stress didn’t matter.

He sighed again, mind still elsewhere. Probably on Snufkin. 

He picked up another rock and tossed it in the river.

“Are you just going to mope around all day?” Little My asked stingily, walking up the bridge toward him,

“Of course I’m not,” Moomintroll gave her a flat look, reaching for another rock.

“Sure seems like you are. You’ve been sitting here doing nothing for at least an hour,” Little My said.

“I’m _not._ I’m going on a walk with Snorkmaiden later,” Moomintroll said annoyedly, even though it was none of Little My’s business. 

“Ugh. Sounds boring,” Little My wrinkled her nose. “Everything’s been boring today,” she grumbled, sitting on the bridge.

“Oh no, how absolutely terrible, a bored Little My,” Moomintroll said in a stale, flat voice. He went to pick up another rock, but his paw hit empty air. He was out of rocks.

He sighed.

…

It was evening. The sun was still out though, casting a warm glow over the path Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were walking on.

It had been at least half an hour and so far the walk had been just as boring as Little My thought it would be. Sure the scenery was great, but they’d been seeing it for ages now.

They kept on trying to have conversations, but they kept fizzling out, or turning to Knollermaiden’s visit, or Snufkin’s disappearance.

“It’s been kinda a while now,” Moomintroll murmured. “He said he was still in the valley, but what if he changed his mind and just decided to leave entirely?”

“I’m sure he’d at least leave you a note like he usually does,” Snorkmaiden said.

“I suppose,” Moomintroll sighed.

They kept walking along the path, eventually reaching a river with a few stones sticking out that they could hop over with.

Moomintroll tried to be a gentleman and help Snorkmaiden across, but it ended up a little awkward and they nearly fell in.

Just as they reached the other side, Moomintroll spotted something in the grass near them. Something shiny that had light glinting off of it.

“Hm? Wonder what this is,” Moomintroll bent down to grab it.

“What?” Snorkmaiden said before noticing it.

Moomintroll stood up and stared at it, brows creased. It was Snufkin’s harmonica.

“What’s this doing out here? Snufkin wouldn’t just leave it somewhere,” Moomintroll said confusedly, turning it over in his paw.

“That’s odd,” Snorkmaiden mused. “Maybe he passed by and it fell out of his pocket?”

Moomintroll looked around. “I wonder if he’s still nearby. .”

Snorkmaiden sighed a little, a knowing look on her face.

They walked a little ways more before she spotted something else.

“Wait a minute,” She murmured, walking to a little bush and picking out a familiar little box of fishing hooks.

A little bit later they found Snufkin’s roll of fishing line, laying on the path.

“Something isn’t right, he wouldn’t just leave these scattered around out here,” Moomintroll said worriedly. 

Snorkmaiden stared at the stuff they’d collected that she was carrying, brow creased in confusion. “Maybe his bag got a tear in it and he hadn’t noticed yet.”

“But doesn’t he keep his harmonica in his pocket?” Moomintroll said, glancing around to see if he could spot Snufkin anywhere nearby.

“Maybe his pocket got a tear too. I don’t know, it’s the most likely thing I can think of,” Snorkmaiden shrugged. “Do you think we should try and return this stuff? Or maybe he’d prefer if we left him alone a while longer. . .”

“I don’t know. If we see him we’ll give it to him, but I don’t think he’d want us looking for him,” Moomintroll sighed, but just a minute later, they found a spot where the dirt was a little softer. Moomintroll gasped when he spotted it.

“Never mind, let’s find him,” He said, hurriedly walking to the mark on the ground.

“Wait, what?” Snorkmaiden said, confused at his sudden turnaround. She spotted the mark. “What’s that?” She raised an eyebrow at Moomintroll.

“Nothing,” Moomintroll said, wiping it with his foot till the dirt was clear. It had been a circle with a familiar boot print inside.

“No, really, what is it? You changed your mind as soon as you saw it,” Snorkmaiden gave him a flat look, putting things together in her head. “It’s from Snufkin, isn’t it?”

“Fine, yes it is. He’s saying I can look for him,” Moomintroll sighed a bit exasperatedly, searching the ground for any hint of which way Snufkin had gone. 

“Have you two just had a secret code this whole time?” Snorkmaiden said, putting a paw on her hip and sounding a bit incredulous. They continued walking down the path.

“. . Maybe,” Moomintroll murmured frustratedly, knowing it’d just be stupid to try and deny it at this point. Snorkmaiden wasn’t that easily fooled. 

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Snorkmaiden jabbed his side playfully, walking alongside him as he continued getting farther and farther.

“It was supposed to be a secret,” Moomintroll said exasperatedly. There didn’t seem to be any hint as to which way Snufkin had gone, so he was just continuing in the direction the boot print had been facing. They walked quite a ways away from where the mark had been found.

“You need to forget you saw that. Just put it totally out of your mind.”

“Moomintroll,” Snorkmaiden said.

“There is no secret code. You just imagined it or something. Just don’t tell anyon-”

“ _Moomintroll_ ,” Snorkmaiden grabbed his arm, sounding a little concerned. She pointed to a stream a little ways away. “Is that Snufkin’s bag?”

“What?” Moomintroll spotted it. He ran over to it, but Snufkin wasn’t there. His bag was just sitting there, abandoned. Moomintroll looked around a little frantically while Snorkmaiden caught up. 

“Snufkin brings his bag with him everywhere,” Moomintroll murmured, growing anxious. “He wouldn’t have just left it.”

Snorkmaiden looked a bit anxious too, setting down the stuff she’d been carrying by the bag.

“I’m sure there’s a reason for this,” Snorkmaiden said, but she didn’t sound sure at all. 

They stood next to the stream for a bit. Then Snorkmaiden gasped, pointing towards some boulders up ahead.

Moomintroll gasped when he saw it too. It stood out easily among the orange, red, and brown leaves everywhere.

Snufkin’s hat. Just sitting alone on the ground.

They both ran towards it, knowing something must be terribly wrong. 

“This is weird,” Snorkmaiden said worriedly as Moomintroll reached the hat and picked it up.

“He’s never this careless with his things, something’s wro-”

A big net sprang out from the leaves below their feet, pulling them up. They both yelled out in alarm and surprise, tumbling over each other and getting tangled in it.

Snufkin’s hat had slipped out of Moomintroll’s paw at the last second, landing on the ground below them.

“What in the- What?!” Snorkmaiden tumbled around, trying to steady herself, clearly extremely freaked out. 

Moomintroll scrambled to get upright, with great difficulty, pulling at the net as he went. He opened his mouth to say something, just as freaked out as Snorkmaiden, but below them something beeped, startling them.

Moomintroll could only just barely see the glint of metal below them. Whatever it was that beeped started emitting a cloudy steam towards them.

“Moomintroll!” Snorkmaiden grabbed his arm frantically.

“What is that stuff?!” Moomintroll said, scrambling around, trying to avoid it, heart starting to race.

They tumbled about in the net, grabbing and pulling at the rope, trying to reach and open the top, trying to avoid the white steam, but not too long later they started getting drowsy.

Moomintroll got more and more sleepy, massively freaking out internally as he tried to stay aware, tried to keep his eyes open as he grew heavier and heavier.

He just got more and more drowsy, leaning against the net as Snorkmaiden tried to shake him back awake, but her shaking was rather tired as well like she was close to passing out too.

He fell asleep, hearing footsteps approaching.

…

Moomintroll was distantly aware of movement. It felt like he was in a cart, or a wheelbarrow, or something, being pushed somewhere.

As he started waking up more, he noticed the net still tangled around him, and Snorkmaiden’s back pressed against his side. He noticed she was asleep. 

He was still tired. Groggily, he rolled over just the tiniest bit, creaking his eyes open at his surroundings. 

He was staring up at the sky through a canopy of tree branches. It looked like it was morning. 

His eyes started widening as he continued waking up, feeling the net over him and remembering. He remembered Snufkin’s stuff scattered and left about. He remembered being trapped by the net. 

Before he could do anything, the wheelbarrow stopped and someone grabbed the net closer to his feet.

Someone pulled them straight off of the wheelbarrow and onto the ground with a heavy thump.

It jolted Moomintroll more awake, apparently waking Snorkmaiden as well as she let out a surprised sound at the fall and then gasped at their surroundings.

Moomintroll scrambled to see who was pulling them, getting a bit more tangled in the net in the process, then gasped, heart rate accelerating when he saw Knoller and Gib pulling them across the ground towards a shack.

“ _You!_ ” Snorkmaiden said, alarmed, struggling in the net.

“Hm, look who’s finally awake,” Knoller grinned, getting them to the door of the shack. Gib opened it for him. 

“What are y- how did you- Let us _go_ ,” Moomintroll blubbered frantically, pulling on the net and trying to find purchase.

Knoller chuckled, dragging them inside, onto a hardwood floor.

The room they emerged in was somewhat big, looking like it took up most of the space indoors. There was a couch and a table and some random supplies about.

“Where is this place-” Moomintroll started, but Snorkmaiden gasped, cutting him off.

_“Snufkin?!”_

Moomintroll’s heart nearly stopped when he spotted him. He gasped, almost horrified, seeing Snufkin slumped over on the floor. He was across the room and it looked like he was passed out. His face was pale and he was missing his hat and one of his boots, and he had a rope tied around his neck like a leash that attached to the wall up high.

“Wha- _Snufkin!_ What did you do to him?!” Moomintroll yelled, straining harder against the net towards his friend.

Knoller ignored him and tossed them into a wooden cage on the opposite side of the room to Snufkin. 

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden both oofed at the landing. Gib slammed the cage shut while Knoller grabbed a big padlock off of the table.

Moomintroll continued struggling with the net, trying to find the opening and get out. His heart sank sickeningly as Knoller locked the cage tight. 

“Moomintroll, hold still a minute,” Snorkmaiden said quietly. She found where the net had been tied shut and started trying to untie it.

“Ok, ok,” Moomintroll murmured nervously, staying still and keeping an eye on Snufkin. Had Snufkin really been stuck here all this time? He wasn’t off wandering and exploring by himself? He’d been trapped with these awful people?!

Moomintroll's heart leaped in his throat when he noticed Gib approaching Snufkin.

“What are you doing? Don’t touch him!” Moomintroll yelled, instinctively scrambling to the front of the cage. Snorkmaiden yelped a little in surprise, scolding him.

Gib knelt by Snufkin’s limp body and grabbed at the rope around his neck. It looked like he was. . . _Untying it?_

Moomintroll stared, aghast and confused as Gib grunted annoyedly at how long it was taking and how frayed the end was. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing though.

Meanwhile, Knoller placed Snufkin’s missing boot next to the wall near them.

Moomintroll’s eyes widened. 

Knoller had taken Snufkin’s boot. Knoller must have been the one who made that mark. How did he know about them at all?!

Snorkmaiden continued trying to undo the knot in the net with some difficulty.

Gib finished untying Snufkin and just curled the rope up nearby before going and flopping on the couch.

Moomintroll stared, brows creased in confusion and worry. Why would they untie him? Weren’t they planning some terrible revenge? An awful feeling squirmed in Moomintroll’s gut at that thought.

“Got it,” Snorkmaiden whispered anxiously, pulling the net down around her. Moomintroll scrambled to get out as well, tossing it aside with his foot when he managed. He and Snorkmaiden both rushed back to the front of the cage, grabbing on to the planks and gazed at the other people in the room.

“What are we going to do?” Snorkmaiden whispered very quietly in a somewhat high voice, leaning towards him.

“I- I don’t know,” Moomintroll murmured back nervously, pulling a little at the plank of wood in front of him. It seemed pretty firmly stuck. .

Knoller and Gib waited around casually, glancing at Snufkin often.

“What. . . What do you want with us?” Snorkmaiden asked, steeling up her voice as she went, trying to sound less frightened.

Knoller snorted.

“You mean it isn’t obvious? I did swear I’d get my revenge didn’t I?” Knoller gazed lazily at them. “Or maybe you weren’t there at the time, dear _Snorkmaiden_ ,” Knoller’s voice turned cold at her name, glaring at her.

Snorkmaiden only shrank back a little before steeling herself up again and managing to glare back at him.

“You know, I’m glad _you_ ’re one of the ones who fell into my trap Snorkmaiden. You, who wiggled your way into my house, into my affairs, charming my own niece into convincing me to let you see my precious collection before looking into you properly,” Knoller stalked towards them, cracking his knuckles. “I _know_ you were in on it. I _Know_ It.”

He peered through the planks at them. Then he grinned wickedly. “And now you’ll pay. You’ll watch me _break_ your precious half breed and bend him to my will, and you’ll rot in there as long as I want.”

Moomintroll had instinctively stepped back a step, staring at him agape and with his brows creased. Snorkmaiden had much the same expression.

Moomintroll’s heart was pounding in his chest as he gritted his teeth anxiously. What was he talking about? What did he mean _break_ Snufkin?!

Then Moomintroll spotted the slightest movement across the room. He gasped, noticing Snufkin stirring.

Knoller saw Moomintroll’s face and turned around.

Snufkin slowly moved his arm towards his face, rubbing his forehead.

Moomintroll realized he’d started holding his breath.

“Ah, look who's finally awake,” Knoller said. Snufkin’s body visibly flinched at the sound. He curled in on himself a bit more, not opening his eyes yet.

Moomintroll realized Snufkin was shivering. Moomintroll gasped, the squirmy, worried feeling in his gut getting worse.

One of Snufkin’s paws shakily reached towards his neck, where the rope had been before. His paw only met his scarf. He felt around for it, jolting up when he realized the rope was off.

Snufkin snapped upright, looking around the room frantically. He seemed to spot Knoller first, gaping at him and rubbing his neck a little.

Snufkin stood up quickly, glancing towards the door, shoulders tensed, but then he spotted Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden staring aghast at him.

Moomintroll watched him freeze completely, horror washing over his features.

“Oh my- No. No, no _no!_ . . How did you- _No,_ You can’t-” Snufkin blubbered, stumbling into the wall, shaking his head, looking like he was about to collapse against the wall again.

“That’s right,” Knoller laughed merrily. “Your new training begins _now._ ”

Moomintroll glanced at Knoller aghast. New Training?

“No. _No._ You can’t do this, you _can’t_ ,” Snufkin was as pale as a ghost, trembling badly, eyes wide, covering his mouth with his paw and bracing himself against the wall.

“Yep, you get the picture. Easy peasy. You do as I say, they stay ok. You know what happens if you don’t,” Knoller grinned widely, slapping the cage and startling Moomintroll.

Moomintroll couldn’t tear his gaze away from his shaking friend, Knoller’s words washing over him terribly as he processed what was happening.

Snufkin was just shaking worse, pressing against the wall across from them, his blubbering getting quieter and more strangled. “You can’t- No, no, no, _no_ ,- Oh my gosh, _Moomintroll-_ ”

“Snufkin,” Moomintroll breathed, heart pounding in his chest. He wanted to say something else, but the words just wouldn’t click together in his brain.

Knoller clapped his paws twice, loud enough to startle just about everyone.

“Let’s do this. Snufkin, come here. _Now_ ,” Knoller commanded, smiling widely.

Snufkin was still shaking his head, flinching at the words and trembling worse than ever. He had shut his eyes tight, covering his mouth tightly.

“I’m only saying this once,” Knoller said, putting his paws on his hips, staring at Snufkin expectantly.

Snufkin shuddered, shrinking down a little and shaking his head again.

Moomintroll would have expected Knoller to be upset, or at least annoyed, but instead, he laughed.

“Really? You’re actually going to test me like this?” He said, sounding like he thought it was the funniest thing in the world. “I mean, it’s been over a year, but I would have thought you’d remember, Snufkin. _I Don’t Make Empty Threats._ ”

Knoller walked, still laughing, over to a bag with something long and sharp sticking out. He grabbed it and started stalking back over to the cage while Snufkin let out the most horrified gasp.

“ _No!_ Don’t, I-” Snufkin rushed forward, tripping over his feet in his rush to stop him, but Gib caught him, grabbing him and holding him back when he was halfway across the room.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden backed away to the back of the cage, gasping as Knoller approached. The thing in his paw looked like something that wasn’t built to be a weapon had been altered and turned into one, with a very sharp, painful-looking point and an extra-strong handle.

Snufkin kept yelling, pleading for him to stop, kicking furiously against Gib, just barely managing to jerk away and run between Knoller and the cage as Knoller reached it.

“Stop! I’m here, just don’t-” Snufkin took a strangled breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. “ _Don’t_ hurt them.”

Moomintroll huddled against Snorkmaiden, seeing Snufkin’s shoulders shaking terribly, hearing his trembling breaths that made it sound like he was crying.

Moomintroll could feel his own breathing heavier than usual. His brain still couldn’t string words together properly.

Knoller stared down at Snufkin triumphantly.

“Let’s try this again then, why don’t we?” Knoller said. “Go stand over there again.”

Snufkin shrank backward a step. He glanced behind him at Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden, still looking rather horrified.

Moomintroll could see the slightly red eyes, the water still dripping down his face.

Then he couldn’t. Snufkin had turned and was walking back over to the wall, stumbling along rather quickly, bracing a paw against it when he reached it.

Moomintroll opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing was coming out. He just stared aghast.

“Alright, now come here,” Knoller commanded, smugly. 

Snufkin glanced at Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden again, hesitating before walking back, stopping about three or four feet away from Knoller.

Knoller raised an eyebrow at the small Mumrik, pointing at the floor right beside him.

Snufkin hesitantly stepped forward a bit. He flinched rather hard when Knoller patted his shoulder.

“Now you’re getting it,” Knoller grinned. “Go stand by Gib.”

Snufkin looked around. Gib was near the middle of the room, his arms crossed, smirking at Snufkin and tapping his foot impatiently.

Snufkin reached up and grabbed his scarf tight as he walked over to Gib, still trembling really badly.

“Snufkin. .” Moomintroll heard Snorkmaiden whisper, sounding rather horrified and like she didn’t know what else to say.

Snufkin took a strangled, deep breath, standing and stopping in front of Gib.

Gib’s smirk widened.

“Now come back,” Knoller said, sounding incredibly pleased with himself.

Snufkin flinched again at the words, shaking worse as he shuffled across the floor back to Knoller, staring at the floor.

“Good. Now, here comes the ringer,” Knoller said, suddenly getting very serious. He grabbed Snufkin’s shoulder very tight and Snufkin shuddered. “You are going to go outside by yourself. You’re going to stay quiet, and you’re going to stay within sight of the front door. In half an hour I’m going to call you back in.” 

Snufkin stared up at Knoller incredulously, seeming confused by the amount of trust Knoller was already putting on his minimal training.

“Yes, I know. I’m letting you outside, all alone. But I know you’re going to do exactly what I say. You know how I know?” Knoller leaned down, voice getting lower and more threatening. “Because if you run away, if you leave line of sight of the door, if you’re not there waiting when I call you back in, I’m not just going to hurt them,” Knoller nodded his head towards Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden. “I’m gonna go ahead and kill one of 'em."

Moomintroll couldn’t see Snufkin’s face very well from the angle he was at, but he saw the way Snufkin’s entire body froze up, tensing worse than ever.

“Are we clear?” Knoller stood back up to his full height, staring down at Snufkin.

Snufkin shakily nodded.

“Good. Now go,” Knoller let go of Snufkin’s shoulder, pushing him slightly in the direction of the door.

Snufkin backed up a few steps, stumbling a little. He glanced at Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden again, taking another deep breath that sounded like a sob was trapped underneath, then he turned and hurried out the door, shutting it behind him.

Moomintroll was stunned by what he’d just seen. His brain started catching up with him as he stared at the door, no longer completely taken aback at seeing his best friend shaking like that.

Rage started simmering up in him.

“How dare you. How _dare_ you treat him like that!” Moomintroll growled. He stood as tall as he could, clenching his fists tight

Knoller gave him an amused look that just made Moomintroll’s blood boil.

“Moomintroll, be careful,” Snorkmaiden said, grabbing his arm.

Moomintroll couldn’t heed her words though. He was about to burst.

Knoller just plopped on the couch like he was about to enjoy the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys could comment happy birthday to my sister I think it would really make her day!
> 
> Also thanks for all the amazing comments you've given so far, you all make me so happy!!!
> 
> Also, fun fact, Gib is just extra _excelent _at working with knots and knows them inside and out.__
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	5. It's up to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training goes on.

Snufkin ran outside. He made it about twenty steps before he froze up. Then he collapsed in a heap on the ground, choking to hold back sobs.

He couldn’t stand this! It was even worse than he imagined.

Knoller had Moomintroll. He had Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden, and they were stuck in that awful cage, and he could _kill_ them.

Snufkin glanced behind him to make sure he was in line of sight of the door, not willing to take _any_ chances.

He buried his face in his arms, sobbing horribly, shaking, and taking strangly, deep, shuddering breaths.

A part of him urged him to run, but he smothered it down. He couldn’t now. He couldn’t put his friends' lives in danger like this.

The forest didn’t calm him like it usually would. He kept glancing back at the shack. He was outside, untied, all by himself, seemingly free to go, but it was like he was tethered to the house. He was stuck. He was trapped. 

The museum case had been suffocating and miserable, but this was a far more terrifying misery, with far more uncertainty.

The fall breeze blew cold around him, sending a shiver through his bones.

He desperately tried to stop sobbing, tried to get his breathing under control, but nothing seemed to be working.

It took him way longer than it should have to notice that one of his boots was missing. That was surprising and unsettling enough to get him to pause and stare at his sock for a minute.

He never took it off himself. Did Knoller take it? He. . He took it after Snufkin had passed out. .

Snufkin gasped when he remembered Knoller mentioning his mark. Knoller must have used it to make the mark. That- _that_ was how he _lured_ Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden.

Snufkin was breathing way too heavily and frantic at that realization, tears still streaming steadily.

He stayed like that for ages, massively freaking out, shivering in the cold, Knoller’s words echoing in his head.

He lost track of the time. He got increasingly anxious that any minute Knoller would be calling him back inside. Knoller would see him like this. Everyone would see him like this.

He tried wiping off his face with his sleeve, but he knew his eyes were red and it was incredibly difficult keeping more tears from stubbornly leaking out.

His throat felt all closed up. 

Seconds ticked by a bit too fast. It didn’t feel like half an hour at all.

At one point Snufkin heard Moomintroll yelling inside. Snufkin looked back, gasping, worried about how loud his friend was getting. What if Knoller got mad? What if he was too loud? What if-

The front door opened.

“Time’s done. Come back inside,” Knoller said, grinning knowingly at him.

Snufkin stood up slowly, shoulders tensed, shoving down the instincts to run away, hesitantly walking forward.

He shivered a little in the cold. Moomintroll’s angry yelling was clearer to hear now.

“-Get back here and answer me, you monster!"

“You’ll need to calm down your friend too. Get him to be quiet. His safety is up to you,” Knoller smirked as Snufkin passed.

Snufkin shrank down a bit, words echoing terribly in his head. He rushed a bit quicker inside, immediately going towards the cage.

Moomintroll was standing at the edge of the cage, looking very angry, pulling on the wooden planks while Snorkmaiden stared at him in disbelief a little behind.

When Moomintroll spotted Snufkin though, the anger washed away some, replaced with worry.

“Snufkin,-” Moomintroll started. Snufkin rushed over, reaching through the planks and grabbing Moomintroll’s arm. Moomintroll reached through as much as he could too, holding him where he could in the closest approximation to a hug they could get with the cage in between them.

“Snufkin, are you ok?” Moomintroll asked worriedly.

Snufkin couldn’t speak at first, his throat still feeling very closed up. When he did manage it was a bit gravely and barely louder than a whisper.

“What are you thinking?” He said, tears leaking out frustratedly.

“What? Snufkin-” Moomintroll said confused and still kinda angry.

“I can’t keep you safe if you’re yelling like this, you need to stop,” Snufkin cried, clutching his fur.

“I can’t stand by and watch them treat you like this,” Moomintroll said frustratedly.

“You have to! It’s not up to you Moomintroll,” Snufkin said shakily. “You have to be careful, and you have to be wise.”

“I tried telling him that,” Snorkmaiden had come over, still shaking her head a little in exasperation at Moomintroll. 

“How in the _world_ can I be calm and careful when they’re hurting you like this?!” Moomintroll said, tensing up angrily.

“They’re not hurting me, they’re just-”

“ _NO._ don’t you _dare_ say that Snufkin, they are absolutely hurting you,” Moomintroll said furiously, gripping him tighter.

Snufkin sagged down a little bit, fighting to keep more tears from leaking out and clenching his teeth.

“Well you’ll hurt me more if you get yourself in trouble,” Snufkin said, his voice cracking.

Moomintroll stared at him aghast. Snufkin couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Oh, how sweet,” Knoller’s voice interrupted, causing Snufkin to shudder terribly. He felt Moomintroll tense up worse. Snufkin didn’t need to look up to know Moomintroll was glaring lividly at Knoller.

Knoller was only a few steps behind him. Gib chuckled from the couch.

“I think it’s time to continue training now,” Knoller clapped his paws, a smile easily heard in his voice. “Snufkin, _come._ ”

Moomintroll growled a little, clutching Snufkin tighter, but Snufkin tearily pulled away. Moomintroll didn’t have the right leverage to keep him there, though he tried. He grabbed Snufkin’s arm really tight.

“Snufkin, you don’t have to do this, you don’t have to listen to him,” Moomintroll pleaded, his grip slipping since he was unwilling to grab so tight it’d hurt him.

Snufkin grimaced, once again straining to hold back tears, jerking a little to get away and stepping backward towards Knoller.

Knoller grabbed his shoulder firmly, making Snufkin flinch pretty bad again and shudder.

“Oh, but he does,” Knoller grinned, almost maniacally. “Isn’t that right Snufkin?” He squeezed Snufkin’s shoulder and pulled him a little closer. Snufkin nearly tripped over his feet, shivering uncomfortably next to him.

Snufkin only managed a tiny nod. He couldn’t meet his friends’ eyes.

……… 

The next two days or so were filled with training. 

Knoller ordered Snufkin around a bunch, telling him to do seemingly random things with no purpose. 

He was told to walk to specific, random places in the room. He was told to stand in a corner for an hour. He was told to write his name twice on a piece of paper. He was told to get exactly two rolls of bread and three apples from the food closet.

Then there were other times he was told to do something that involved going outside. Those times were always a thousand times more tense because Knoller made it clear that messing up outside meant either Moomintroll or Snorkmaiden would die.

He was told to run five times around the outside of the shack. He was told to go climb a specific tree. He was told to go up on the roof and do nothing for an hour. He was told to run to an apple tree and bring back exactly two apples within ten minutes.

Snufkin returned from that last one panting. He leaned against the door, sliding down a little, the apples tumbling out of his paws and onto the ground as he tried to catch his breath. He’d barely made it back in time with how far the apple tree was and he was emotionally frazzled.

On the second day, he was sent to Lakeworth’s mansion with a note. It had been a very long exhausting run. Lakeworth turned out to be a rich guy who was the same kind of creature as Ninny, only he was very tall and was only slightly nicer than Knoller.

Lakeworth had inspected Snufkin curiously, asking him a few confusing questions about his skills, but Snufkin didn’t utter a word, a bit too overwhelmed by everything.

Lakeworth was annoyed, but he got distracted by the note Knoller had sent with him. He gave Snufkin a different note to bring back to Knoller and sent him off.

Then on a different day, after a bunch of other random tasks, Knoller told Snufkin to stand on his head. Snufkin had been kind of baffled and said he hadn’t done anything like that since he was a small child and he’d surely fall.

Apparently, that was enough for Knoller to get out his handmade stabby weapon. Snufkin _freaked_. 

Gib held Snufkin back when Knoller told him too. Snufkin fought and struggled frantically in Gib’s grip, yelling and pleading for them to stop, that he’d do it. 

Knoller said he’d waited too long. That he had to learn to just obey without question.

Moomintroll shielded Snorkmaiden. 

Snufkin was nearly hysterical trying to get Knoller to stop.

By the end of it, Moomintroll’s arm was bleeding in two places and Snufkin broke down completely on the floor.

...

Later on, Moomintroll tried to assure Snufkin that he was fine, that it didn’t hurt that much, but Snufkin nearly broke down all over again seeing bloodstains on the fur around Moomintroll’s arm and around his paw where he’d been holding his wounds to slow the bleeding before Knoller let him have bandages.  
Knoller continued the training like nothing had happened at all.

...

Knoller eventually trusted his training methods enough to send Snufkin somewhere in public.

That had been nerve-wracking. 

Being around normal, ignorant civilians, even passing a real police officer, but being too terrified to speak up about anything or let on that anything wrong was going on at all.

The first few times Snufkin was accompanied by one of Lakeworth’s servants. Then Knoller had Snufkin go alone to buy a bag of coffee and come right back.

A few more odd, insignificant tasks were given.

Then came the ringer.

Knoller commanded Snufkin to steal something.

Snufkin hadn’t expected that at all, but he glanced at Moomintroll’s still bandaged arm (shuddering with horrible, almost overwhelming guilt) and kept his mouth shut while Knoller told him exactly what he was to steal.

Snufkin wasn’t above swiping a few crops when he really needed it, but he’d never done anything like this. It just made his gut squirm with dread.

Knoller wanted him to steal a very specific, very expensive hand mirror from someone’s house. 

Snufkin was given a bag and a dark cloak, as well as a pressing time limit. Snufkin just got more and more anxious.

He would have to be quick. If he was spotted by anyone, Knoller would punish Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden.

The town that the house was in was about a day of travel away, even if he was fast. He just barely had enough time to make it, and if he was a minute late his friends were getting hurt.

His nerves got worse when he got to the house and found out the mirror was an important heirloom to the family.

He snatched it anyway.

He nearly had a nervous breakdown when one of the family members almost spotted him.

He ran almost the entire way back to Knoller’s shack. He was terribly exhausted and close to passing out when he finally got there.

He leaned against the outside of the door, panting for a minute. He went inside, still breathing rather heavily, stumbling a tiny bit.

“I- I got it,” Snufkin stood near the door, holding out the bag meekly. 

Knoller had been writing a note at the table. He grinned and walked over, taking the bag.

Usually, this was the time when he’d tell Snufkin to go sit by the wall, but this time he didn’t. Snufkin stood there, a bit confused and feeling jittery as Knoller took out the mirror and inspected it.

Snufkin glanced at Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden. They’d been sitting near the back wall of the cage, talking in hushed voices, but now they were staring at Snufkin and Knoller.

“Good. Very good,” Knoller said, sounding pleased and walking back towards the table. He made a motion with his paws, telling Snufkin to follow him.

This had never happened before. Snufkin shuffled along uncertainly, trailing a few feet behind him.

“And were you spotted? Anyone suspect you at all?” Knoller placed the bag on the table before turning around and leaning over Snufkin, scrutinizing him.

Snufkin only barely managed to fight the urge to back up, very uncomfortable with how close Knoller was leaning over him. 

“No one saw me,” Snufkin said, nervously remembering that one guy who nearly did.

“Of course not. I’m having Lakeworth check all the newspapers though when they come out, just to make sure,” Knoller grinned, raising an eyebrow and patting Snufkin’s shoulder like he so often liked doing. 

He leaned back up and Snufkin thought that might be the end of it, that he’d be sent back to the wall, but Knoller didn’t tell him to go yet.

“I was originally planning on waiting to do this, but I think it’s time. Gib, if you please,” Knoller looked at Gib and gestured towards the only other room in the shack beside the food closet. Knoller’s office.

Gib nodded and got up, going inside.

Snufkin stared after him, confusion, worry, and dread getting worse. Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden whispered a few words to each other, faces looking just as confused.

“Congratulations Snufkin. Think of this moment kind of like a graduation,” Knoller said, smirking. Gib walked out of the office holding something. He came over and handed it to Knoller.

It was a strip of leather made into what looked like a collar. Snufkin stared at it, dread and nerves rising almost unbearably as he recognized what it was.

“This is something you will never take off. I may take it off to replace it sometime, or to clean it or whatever, but _you_ shall leave it,” Knoller said, paws all too quickly pulling it around Snufkin’s neck and snapping it on.

Snufkin inhaled sharply, his whole body tingling horribly at how close he was, scared to move a muscle.

It felt very weird, a little snug, heavier than it really was because of what it signified.

Knoller grabbed both of Snufkin’s shoulders, pulling him just a step closer. Knoller leaned uncomfortably close again, grinning almost maniacally.

The next words Knoller spoke sent a wave of ice trembling down Snufkin’s spine.

“You’re **mine** now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed someone worrying about the food situation. I didn't find it important enough to the story to find a way to squeeze it into the actual chapter to mention this, but you can rest assured that Knoller and Gib have been stockpiling extra food in preparation for this, though Knoller _does_ have a history of underfeeding prisoners that will likely continue here. . .  
> If they do run too low, Knoller would send Gib with a note to Knollermaiden's house to tell her exactly how much extra food to get.
> 
> Hope you're having a good day! Remember to hydrate yourself


	6. I can't do this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knoller continues his plan.
> 
> Knollermaiden is anxious about seeing her Uncle again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to another chapter of ~ _Knoller's Revenge_ ~ *Insert theme music

The next morning not much happened.

Moomintroll woke up groggy. His arm was stiff and throbbing a little. Snorkmaiden fussed over him a bit, insisting on checking it and changing the bandages.

He didn’t resist much. He glanced over at Snufkin who was sitting by the wall on the other side of the room. That’s where he always was when Knoller wasn’t ordering him to do weird things.

Snufkin had been staring at them despondently, zoning out a little, but when Snorkmaiden started messing with the bandages Snufkin had refocused, grimaced terribly, shuddered, and buried his head in his knees.

Moomintroll’s worry flared up particularly high at that. He knew Snufkin felt worse about the whole incident than he did.

Seeing Snufkin break down like he did that day had been scarier than seeing Knoller approaching menacingly with his weapon.

It had been infuriating and terrifying watching Knoller’s training. That day had been some kind of tipping point. Moomintroll became more determined to find a way out of there. That determination only increased last night when Snufkin “graduated”. 

From where he was sitting, Moomintroll could just barely see that horrible collar around Snufkin’s neck.

He and Snorkmaiden hadn’t been able to come up with anything yet. Knoller and Gib were very vigilant with them. At least one of them was always in the room. Always within hearing range. Nothing was left close enough to grab except food and water.

Moomintroll and Snormaiden mostly just had to keep their eyes and ears out, watching everything that went on closely. They whispered little things to each other occasionally. Picked at nails holding together their cage every once in a while. Lying in wait for the right opportunity.

This morning wasn’t like the past few ones. Nothing really happened at all. The more time passed, the more it seemed like maybe Knoller and Gib were waiting for something.

It was past midday when it happened.

A few of Lakeworth’s guards knocked on the door. Knoller had been expecting them. He welcomed them in and showed them Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden glanced at each other with guarded expressions. It looked like these guys were going to guard them while Knoller and Gib went out.

Knoller told Snufkin to walk next to him. Snufkin seemed a little jumpy, nervously looking at Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden. It seemed he was going to have to go with them.

To add insult to everything, Knoller leashed Snufkin. He attached a rope to the collar and walked outside, Snufkin trailing along uncomfortably.

Moomintroll watched him go, gripping the bars of the cage tight.

……… 

The leash wasn’t really necessary, and Snufkin knew Knoller knew it. It was just degrading.

One of Lakeworth’s men was traveling with them. Gib trailed a bit behind, his paws casually resting in his pockets.

No one mentioned where they were going so Snufkin could only guess. Knoller was still a wanted man so it couldn’t be anywhere public. It seemed like they were heading in the direction of Lakeworth’s mansion. .

Snufkin mostly stared at the ground as they went. Sometimes he glanced around at the forest. He hugged his arms around himself. 

This wasn’t the same as being trapped in the case, but he still couldn’t leave. He couldn’t move around and wander, he couldn’t go find new things.

If things continued on like this he could forget about his winter travels. 

Just the thought of being trapped like this that long made him tense up really bad. It felt like something was clamping around his lungs, starting to suffocate him.

How long was Knoller going to keep him here? How long were Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden going to be trapped in that cage? What if this went on for years?!

He was trying desperately not to freak out too much in front of Knoller and everyone. The invisible clamp around his lungs didn’t relent though. If anything, it only tightened.

He strained to take in air around it, stumbling a little over the ground, clenching his teeth a little as he tried to stop thinking about the future and focus on the now. 

He still could barely breathe though. He was getting a little light-headed, paws getting clammy, heart rate accelerating. 

He was getting farther and farther behind Knoller without realizing it. Knoller yanked him up a bit, smirking back at him for a second.

Snufkin tried to quicken his pace. One of his paws shakily grabbed the collar around his neck. It felt uncomfortably tight even though no one had tightened it.

He tugged it just a little, just trying to breathe.

“Snufkin.” Knoller didn’t even turn around. Snufkin’s paw dropped to his side, his heart beating faster.

“When I say don’t mess with it I _mean_ don’t mess with it.”

Snufkin trembled, getting light-headed again.

Knoller looked back again and Snufkin nodded shakily.

It was a long, _long_ journey.

They continued on through the forest for hours until it was nearly sunset.

Snufkin’s guess turned out to be right. They did go to Lakeworth’s mansion.

Lakeworth greeted them, grinning with anticipation. He led them to a fancy room with a table in the middle that had a few maps and plans on them.

On the way there Lakeworth and Knoller conversed about Snufkin and how his training came along nicely and about different supplies.

Then Knoller revealed what they were all there for.

Snufkin was to steal again. Something much more valuable than the hand mirror had been. 

Snufkin was silent, nerves worsening as they explained what it was, where it was, how to do it, and how long he had.

Apparently, it was in a museum. In a _city_. With loads of people.

Knoller decided to be a bit more forgiving if anyone saw him. As long as no one got a good enough look at him to recognize him later, and as long as he wasn’t caught, his friends would be relatively ok.

It was the ‘relatively’ part that worried Snufkin. He knew he didn’t want to be seen at all.

Thankfully the thing he was to steal was something he’d be able to fit easily in a bag like the mirror. 

It was a special hair ornament, made over a thousand years ago, only one of its kind. It was worth fifty times more than the mirror.

Snufkin was going to have to be careful with it.

Lakeworth handed him the bag he was going to use. Inside was a cloak, gloves, lockpicks, and a bundle of special cloth to wrap the hair ornament in for extra protection once he had it.

As they got him ready, Knoller finally took off the leash. He told Snufkin to hold still and grabbed his scarf. 

Snufkin froze up, barely breathing, shivering some as Knoller gingerly took off his scarf and put it back on him differently. He wrapped it around so it hid the collar out of sight. He left the ends of the scarf dangling down Snufkin’s back instead of in front where he usually kept it.

Knoller said that whenever he was in public, he was to keep it like that, but when he was at the shack or at Lakeworth’s house, he had to keep the collar out.

People would stare and ask questions and make a fuss if they saw a Mumrik wearing something like that. 

As they went on and finished getting him ready to go, Snufkin had to wonder. 

What did Knoller have planned for him in the long run? More stealing? Was all the training some weird convoluted plan to get rich?

What was Knoller’s end goal?

They sent him off into the woods. He had two days to get to the city, one day to stake out the museum, another to do the actual stealing, and two more to get back.

Knoller had reminded him of every terrible thing that would happen if he messed up, if he told anyone where Knoller was or that he knew him at all, or if he told anyone about Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden being in trouble, or if he didn’t come back, or if he got caught, or if he lost his collar, and plenty other possibilities that were terrifying.

Lakeworth apparently had a few men already there ready to keep an eye out for Snufkin and listen in if and when he had to talk to someone.

Of course, Snufkin was nervous. That was a massive understatement. 

There were so many things that could go wrong, so many variables, so many ways he could blunder and get his friends hurt or even killed.

At least the time he had to do it was a bit more manageable. He wouldn’t have to wear himself out to exhaustion running to get back.

………

It was an entire week before Moomintroll saw Snufkin again. It was terribly nerve-wracking not knowing where he was. He and Snorkmaiden were really freaking out.

Knoller and Gib returned without him the night after they left. Lakeworth’s men were sent back home.

Moomintroll got brave enough to ask where Snufkin was. Knoller only said that he was out doing something.

The days passed by slowly, feeling like eternity.

When Snufkin finally got back he was panting a little, wearing a similar cloak to the one he had to wear when he stole the mirror. He handed a bag to Knoller. 

Knoller was very pleased. 

Snufkin anxiously said that he was pretty sure a few people saw him from afar, but they only really saw his cloak. No one got close enough to see his face or recognize him.

Knoller seemed to think that was good enough. Nothing to worry too much about. 

From that night on Knoller decided to implement a little positive reinforcement in his training by giving the three prisoners more than just stale bread or crackers for dinner. 

Sometimes they got a piece of fruit, or some vegetables or something. 

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden continued looking out for an opportunity to escape.

As days passed and they got further and further into autumn, Moomintroll wondered how their families were reacting to them being missing so long.

Of course, they’d be freaking out. They were probably searching for them. That was a bit of a relief to know, but how would they find them? 

Moomintroll had been asleep the entire way to the shack, he had no way of knowing how well Knoller had hidden them or how far away from the valley they were.

Time kept passing with minimal training. Instead, Moomintroll figured out through snippets of conversation around that Knoller was preparing Snufkin to go steal something else.

Moomintroll didn’t know what. 

………

Knollermaiden was in town again. People ignored her once they saw who she was. Those who didn’t ignore her were usually downright rude or cold.

She was hiding a little under her hat, shivering in her coat, walking to the store to get more food rations for Uncle Knoller and Gib.

She had to do it every four days or so because Uncle told her to do it in little chunks like that. It was always uncomfortable. In the past she would have made attempts to be sociable with people, trying to find her old friends and talk to them, trying to just be kind to people and hope they’d be kind back. She had always been turned away. .

Nowadays she kept to herself. She was still kind when she could be. Olma’s teachings had stuck with her, but she didn’t approach people or try to find people anymore. She couldn’t bear the looks they gave her and she felt like she deserved it.

The store clerk was stiff as usual and only a little more talkative than Gib. He rang her up quickly and sent her away.

Knollermaiden walked out of the store with her bags of rations. She leaned against the outside of the door for a minute, glancing around apprehensively at the people walking past.

She could see her breath in the air. It got colder every day.

She eased away from the door anxiously. She had to force her legs to move, going down the road to where she had parked her carriage.

Someone bumped into her and she jumped, a bit startled. 

“Sorry,” she squeaked quietly.

They didn’t say a word, not even giving her a glance as they walked off down the road.

Knollermaiden stood there a minute feeling like her insides were being squeezed. People kept moving around her and it made her more nervous. She had to keep going. She had to get home. Tonight she was supposed to go to Uncle’s shack again.

She put one foot in front of the other, stomach squirming uncomfortably at the thought of seeing her uncle again.

She knew she had to talk to him. She had to ask him about the museum. She just had to know what he’d done.

Everyone hated her because she hadn’t said anything, hadn’t stopped him, hadn’t realized what was so wrong all those years.

But Knollermaiden absolutely dreaded how her Uncle was going to react. What if he got mad at her? What if he yelled at her again? What if she came home crying again?

She wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it. She wasn’t brave enough she supposed, but in a way, she was more scared of not doing it, of not finding out, of not knowing. 

She made it to the carriage and stashed the food inside. She started the long drive home.

She was nervous the entire day as it passed. It just got worse and worse as it got closer to evening.

It continued getting worse when she had to start the drive to Uncle’s shack.

Her body kept moving while her brain freaked out. She had to go. She couldn’t be late. Uncle would be angry if she was.

Her paws were clammy. The cold wasn’t the only source of her shivering. She felt like someone with stage fright getting on a stage with thousands of people watching.

The ride there passed by far too quickly. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t do this. Sh- she couldn’t do this, but she _had_ to know. .

Her body moved automatically. She got all the food out of the carriage, starting her walk towards the shack. Closer and closer to the encounter she’d been fearing all month. 

Dead leaves crackled under her feet. Bushes occasionally caught on her dress. Her legs kept moving.

She wanted to go back. She wanted to run back home. Her heart was beating fast in her chest.

Her legs just kept guiding her down the now familiar path. 

All too soon she could see the shack. She could just barely make out her Uncle’s muffled voice coming from inside as she walked closer.

_Oh god, I’m not ready, I can’t do this- I have to know though. ._

She was trembling a little. She wiped her paw on her dress, shakily reaching out to knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Uncle Knoller knew it was her of course. He was expecting her.

Her heart thudded loudly as she opened the door and her legs moved her inside.

She was still worrying about what she had to say, what she had to ask, when she spotted the cage and its occupants. Her heart nearly stopped. The bag of food dropped to the floor.

_“Snorkmaiden?!”_

Snorkmaiden stared back, mouth agape, looking surprised to see her a minute before a scowl took over her face. She turned her back to her.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Snorkmaiden muttered under her breath. Knollermaiden only barely heard it.

Uncle Knoller glanced at them curiously from the table where he was writing a note. Gib stared at them from the couch.

“Uncle, what did you- _why_ is Snorkmaiden here? Why’s she in a cage?! What’s going on?” Knollermaiden said in a very high, alarmed voice, freaking out.

Uncle Knoller raised an eyebrow at her.

“Why do you think? Why do you ask such silly questions?” Uncle Knoller said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“ _Uncle!_ ” Knollermaiden said, wringing her paws a little, getting a horrible foreboding feeling in her gut. “Why is she stuck here?!”

Uncle Knoller rubbed his forehead annoyedly. “Did you even read my note last time you came?”

“It didn’t say anything about putting people in cages,” Knollermaiden said, her voice still very high and alarmed. Snorkmaiden was in a cage. Just like in the museum. She wasn’t even a rare creature. Why was Snorkmaiden in a cage?!

Words she hadn’t been ready for were tumbling out of her mouth. 

“Uncle, this isn’t protecting them, it’s just miserable, she’s not even-”

“You think this is to protect them?” Uncle Knoller said incredulously, laughing a little in disbelief he stood up to his full height staring at her almost menacingly. “Are you really this stupid? Do I really need to spell this out for you?”

Knollermaiden stared at him aghast, trembling as he stalked forward a little.

“Knollermaiden, this is revenge. These people ruined my life. They are going to help me rebuild it and they’re going to sit and rot as long as I want,” Uncle Knoller gestured to the cage, his brow hardening.

Snorkmaiden and the other boy (Knollermaiden didn’t remember ever seeing him before) were staring at them, looking very confused, though Snorkmaiden still looked kind of angry.

Knollermaiden couldn’t take her eyes off of her Uncle. Her mind was a hurricane of scattered thoughts, desperately stringing things together in her head. She didn’t want to believe her Uncle would do something like this to Snorkmaiden, but words and encounters flew by in her brain, reminding her of Snorkmaiden’s words, of Lachlan’s letter, of all the times creatures had been upset in his museum.

“Uncle, this- this isn’t-” She could barely get the words out. She was hesitating. She tried desperately to string together the right words in her brain. “. . This isn’t right, it just hurts Uncle, it only hurts people,” She blubbered, shivering and shrinking under the glare he gave her.

“At this point that’s kind of the idea,” Uncle Knoller raised his voice a little, putting his paws on his hips. “They hurt _me_ Knollermaiden. Don’t you care about that? Don’t you care about me? Why are you making such a fuss about this?”

Knollermaiden felt tears pricking her eyes. “Of course I care about you Uncle, I do, but Snorkmaiden is my-” she faltered, taking a shaky breath with a sob trapped somewhere underneath. “- Snorkmaiden _was_ my friend, and I care about her too.”

She didn’t dare glance at the cage, gluing her eyes to her Uncle. He just got mad

“Seriously? You admit she ‘ _was_ ’ your friend, and you’re still making a fuss? She _used_ you Knollermaiden,” Uncle Knoller said, sounding outraged. “ It could take decades to rebuild my collection if I ever get the chance. She _used_ you, and she _hurt_ me.”

Those words hurt. She hugged herself tightly, fumbling for an answer. Then she remembered why Snorkmaiden did what she did.

“But. . . But you hurt her friend,” Knollermaiden almost whispered, whimpering a little. “Didn’t you?”

She stared up at him. He looked a bit baffled at her.

She wasn’t ready. She _really_ wasn’t ready, but somehow the words came tumbling out before she could stop them.

“What did you do Uncle? What did you do to hurt them? Why was that one. . Why was Snufkin so scared when he saw me?” She whispered, terrified of the answer.

Knoller stared at her a minute. “You saw Snufkin? When did you see Snufkin?”

“. . Almost two months ago. I visited Moominvalley after you mentioned it last time. I just wanted to find Snorkmaiden,” She said timidly. 

Uncle Knoller was rubbing his chin, clearly puzzling something out. “You went to Moominvalley. . . . That was before. . .” 

Knollermaiden watched him warily. He still hadn’t answered her. 

“You actually went to Moominvalley? Just to find Snorkmaiden?” Uncle Knoller turned back to her, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

Knollermaiden nodded. “I- I talked to her and she said you hurt her friend.” She shivered. “Uncle, I don’t think your collection protected anyone, it just-”

Uncle Knoller scowled, glancing at Snorkmaiden then back to his niece.

“No. Hold it right there. You went and talked to her. _She_ got you all worked up about this? _She_ told you I’ve been hurting people? _She_ told you lies about my collection?” Knoller said, anger rising.

Knollermaiden let out a tiny squeak. She backed up a bit as he clenched his fists. Then he rounded towards Snorkmaiden and Knollermaiden gasped, freaking out a little.

Knoller banged his fist on the cage.

“What lies and ideas did you put in my Niece’s head?” He yelled angrily. Snorkmaiden seemed a little startled. She’d been staring at them with her brows creased in confusion.

“I didn’t lie about anything,” Snorkmaiden said simply.

Knoller growled. He gave Snorkmaiden a fierce glare, then he rounded back towards Knollermaiden.

“Uncle-” she trembled, stepping back, tripping over the bag of food she’d dropped on the floor. She yelped a little at the hard landing, staring up at him.

“You need to forget about whatever she told you,” Uncle Knoller glared. “She was trying to tear us apart. She was _lying_. We are _Family_ Knollermaiden, and Family sticks together,” Uncle Knoller glared.

“I wasn’t lyin-” Snorkmaiden protested annoyedly before Knoller cut her off.

“Shut Up!” He yelled at her, growling. “Or I’m getting out the poker.” 

Snorkmaiden crossed her arms, glaring at him, but she didn’t speak up.

Knollermaiden glanced between them, shaking badly, getting back to her feet, heart pounding.

“Knollermaiden. Whatever she told you, she’s wrong. Do you understand me?” Uncle Knoller growled, taking another step forward.

Gib was staring, standing up and looking kind of tense, glancing between Knoller and Knollermaiden, actually looking kind of concerned. 

Uncle raised an eyebrow at her expectantly. He wanted her to confirm. Snorkmaiden was wrong.

But Knollermaiden could only stare at him. Snorkmaiden hadn’t been lying to her. As much as she wanted to trust her uncle, as much as she wanted to believe he’d done nothing wrong, she remembered all those times she’d doubted him in the museum. She remembered Lachlan’s letter. She remembered Snufkin’s terrified face before he ran away from her.

The silence only grew more tense. 

“Knollermaiden. She Was Wrong. _Do you understand me?_ ” Uncle Knoller repeated menacingly, taking a step forward. 

She shrank back, feeling her chest rise and fall, feeling her heart pounding as seconds ticked by.

When she did speak it was squeaky and barely louder than a whisper.

“. . Uncle, I don’t think-”

Knoller yelled in frustration and punched the wall hard, startling her badly.

She backed up, straight into the wall next to the door. She slid down until she was crouching against it, biting her lip to try to keep from sobbing, though tears were already streaming down her face and she kept having to take sharp trembling breaths.

Snorkmaiden was standing at the edge of the cage, holding onto the wooden planks, staring at them apprehensively with brows creased. The other boy just looked kind of baffled.

“Knollermaiden, what did she tell you?” Knoller towered over her, glaring menacingly.

Knollermaiden stared at him, trembling, opening her mouth, then closing it again as she tried to come up with what to say. Her brain was frazzled.

Snorkmaiden caught her eye. She was staring like she was trying to get Knollermaiden’s attention.

_Go,_

Snorkmaiden mouthed, gesturing with her head at the door.

_Call the police._

She looked urgent as she mouthed it. Knollermaiden stared at her in shock for a minute before glancing at the door and back at her Uncle.

She could try.

“I- I think I accidentally left the kettle going on the stove,” she whispered, wide-eyed. “That could be really dangerous, it might have boiled dry by now, I have to-”

“ _Knollermaiden_ ,” Knoller glared, grabbing her shoulder. “What did she tell you?”

“Uncle, there’s no time, my house-” She blubbered as he pulled her roughly to her feet. 

“KNOLLERMAIDEN,” he yelled, startling her really badly. 

She clenched her teeth but a sob came out anyway. She weakly tried to pull away but he held her there firmly. 

He grumbled at his outburst. He made his next words very low like he was straining to keep from snapping. 

“Knollermaiden,” he tried again, gripping her arm tight and talking slowly like he was berating a child. His smile was forced and strained and didn’t resemble much of a smile at all. “This is very important. More important than your house right now. _Tell Me What She Told You._ ”

Knollermaiden just cried, failing miserably as she tried to hold back sobs, weakly trying to pull away from his grip towards the door.

Knoller looked more enraged the longer she didn’t say anything. He growled loudly and glared menacingly at Snorkmaiden.

“Great. Just _great_ ,” he muttered, pulling her towards the middle of the room, away from the door. “You’re going to be staying with us for a while. Gib, grab the key from my office,” He commanded.

Gib glanced between Knoller and his trembling niece, looking very concerned.

“. . But she’s. .” Gib murmured, tensing more where he stood.

Knoller gave him an incredulous, impatient look. 

Knollermaiden was still crying as she processed what Knoller had said, gaping at him.

Gib still didn’t move so Knoller growled again and shoved Knollermaiden at him.

“Fine. Just keep her here and _I’ll_ get it,” he glared at them both, stomping off to his office.

Gib held her arm, keeping her there, but still seeming uncertain. Knollermaiden was panicking as she realised what was happening.

“Gib, _please_ let me go,” she cried, pleading, pulling a bit in his grip.

He stared at her. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. His grip loosened and then his paw dropped to his side. He still looked uncertain.

Knollermaiden stumbled away, but Knoller came up behind her, holding the key.

“ _Gib_. Are You Kidding Me?” Knoller snatched Knollermaiden’s arm before she could bolt to the door.

He just tucked Knollermaiden’s arm under his very tightly and started unlocking the cage.

She pulled frantically to get away, but just as she managed to pull away he snatched her again, opening the door of the cage and shoving her in.

She stumbled a bit first, whirling around as he shut the door tight and locked it up.

“ _Uncle!_ ” She sobbed, grabbing the bars of the door and pulling desperately. The other two occupants of the cage were staring with their mouths open, very tense and only a few steps away. One of them murmured something but Knollermaiden was focused on her uncle.

He was stalking back over to the table, tucking the key in his pocket.

“Uncle, _please_ let me out,” she trembled, desperately.

Knoller completely ignored her.

“Gib,” She pleaded, knees weak, taking more shaky, sobbing breaths. “Gib, please, _please_ ,” she repeated, getting quieter and quieter, trembling worse.

Gib glanced between her and Knoller. He just sat on the couch, sitting sideways so he had his back to her.

Knollermaiden sobbed again, crumpling down. She sat on the ground, turning to lean against the bars, tucking her knees and sobbing miserably into her lap.

She couldn’t go home. Knoller wouldn’t listen. She had failed miserably and she wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what she had failed at. 

She just bawled her eyes out, shoulders shaking, occasionally gasping for air.

There she stayed for ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I do this? I have no idea why I keep doing stuff like this, what is wrong with my brain?
> 
> Never in a million years did I think I'd ever be the kind of writer who tortures their readers, and I still don't feel like that, but I mean. .  
> It's not like I go into my writing thinking "Ok, how am I going to make people suffer today?", I just go, "Oh. this seems really cool and dramatic and angsty and emotional, let's do it!" And then people inform me afterward that it was super painful. . .
> 
> I think I'm becoming more self-aware though. I think that's a plus :D


	7. Please, Talk to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain red-head returns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost Christmas! And here's another chapter for you. Hope you like it!
> 
> Has a super angsty seen I'm really proud of. He, he, he. . .
> 
> And thank you for all of your awesome comments! omg, you guys are the best, Thank you so much!!
> 
> I'm also curious if anyone noticed the names of the first chapter and the last one were almost the same.
> 
> I've actually split up my writing on different docs because if they get too long it's laggy and annoying and every five chapters or so I make a new "act". All of the first chapters in each act, except for the last one, (1, 6, and 11) have a similar name mostly focused on Knollermaiden.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

“It’s stuck.”

“Seriously?” Jenny said exasperatedly.

The pale, raven-haired girl sitting on the ground in front of her tilted her head back and sighed frustratedly and very dramatically.

Jenny rolled her eyes. 

They were in a Cobbler’s shop, surrounded by all kinds of shoes. 

“You gotta be kidding me. Let me try,” Jenny said, holding her hand out. The raven-haired girl stuck her foot out at Jenny and Jenny grabbed the boot that was apparently stuck fast to her friend’s foot.

Jenny pulled at it, bracing herself and tugging, but it really was stuck.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” the raven-haired girl said exasperatedly.

Jenny grunted, tugging hard again on the boot. “Caytie said you needed shoes. You are getting shoes.”

Her springy red hair was getting in her face. She blew it out of the way but a bit of it got caught in her mouth. She grunted in frustration.

“Hold on a minute,” She dropped the boot and started pulling her hair back to twist it into a bun.

“I mean, I could just. .” The raven-haired girl pulled a stout knife out of her pocket, reaching towards the stuck boot.

“ _Marelyn_ ,” Jenny snapped, shooting her friend a warning look. “No.”

“But I could get it off faster,” Marelyn groaned.

“ _No_. Put that thing away before someone sees it,” Jenny said, finishing making her bun and pulling her hair stick out of her pocket, sticking it through with practiced efficiency. 

“There’s no one else in here,” Marelyn said flatly as Jenny grabbed her foot again to continue tugging on the boot.

“The cobbler is around here somewhere and he wouldn’t want people tearing up his shoes to get them off. Are you sure this isn’t tightened at all?” Jenny tugged on the loose laces, trying to loosen them further.

“Why do I need shoes anyway?” Marelyn whined. Honestly, she was older than Jenny but acted like such a child sometimes. Jenny still loved her like a sister though. It was a weird relationship.

Ages later they left the cobbler shop. Jenny was carrying a box of ruined boots that they had to pay for after Marelyn cut them off of her foot when Jenny wasn’t looking.

Marelyn was shuffling around in some short, simple shoes that she was still getting used to. 

“You are impossible,” Jenny lightly whacked the shoe box against the back of Marelyn’s head. They were walking along a city street, people bustling around them, carts and carriages rushing past.

“Ok, maybe I deserve that,” Marelyn shrugged, hopping on to a railing and balancing on it as they walked.

Jenny shook her head exasperatedly. “Isn’t Caytie picking you up somewhere soon? Where were you supposed to meet her?”

“Uh. .” Marelyn hopped off of the railing, walking backward in front of Jenny as she remembered. “It was one of the bakeries. . . But there are like at least five different bakeries in this city. .” 

“You’re about to run into a lamppost,” Jenny warned flatly. Marelyn spun around, just barely swinging around it. 

Jenny spotted a clock tower in the distance. It was almost three in the afternoon.

“I think we’re going to be late,” Jenny murmured. Marelyn fell into step beside her.

“Oh, I remember. It was the one with those special cinnamon buns. I don’t remember the name, but I remember where it is,” Marelyn exclaimed, grabbing Jenny’s arm and running off through the street.

Jenny was caught off guard a bit, being dragged along quickly as Marelyn weaved between citizens and carts, along different streets until they arrived five minutes late to the bakery.

A heavenly smell wafted towards them. 

Jenny grinned. 

They found Caytie inside. Thankfully they weren’t that late so she wasn’t that upset. Marelyn showed off her new shoes and Caytie approved, though she was a bit confused at the box Jenny gave her. 

Soon it was time to part though. Caytie and Marelyn had some very important family business to attend to. It was a bit sad to say goodbye, but Jenny knew she’d see them again soon enough. That and Quinn was around somewhere, ready to meet up with her that night.

“Don’t miss us too much,” Marelyn grinned, giving her a side hug.

“Here, thanks for taking care of the shoe problem for me,” Caytie handed Jenny a bag of cinnamon buns.

“No problem. I think this makes it worth it,” Jenny smiled, opening the bag and sniffing it, sighing. “See you in a month?”

“Yeah, about a month. We’ll tell you about it when we get back together. Say bye to Quinn for me,” Marelyn said, waving before skipping off with her sister.

Jenny waved back. They walked around a street corner, out of sight. 

She bundled up a bit better in her coat, sticking the warm buns in one of its big pockets before wandering down the street.

She didn’t have anything else she had to do for a while. Quinn was meeting up with her that night so they could check out a museum. She already had a place to sleep that night. She didn’t need any supplies. 

So she just wandered for a while, looking through shop windows, occasionally stepping into a few of them but never buying anything. 

Eventually, it started getting late. She decided to walk over to the museum early. 

On the way there she passed by a tavern. She glanced through the window but stopped when she saw someone.

He was sitting at a bar, leaning on it a bit lazily, talking and laughing with some stranger. 

He had a bright red hat and a green smock, and his nose was a bit red. Bright blue eyes contrasted against dark hair.

Jenny couldn’t hear what they were talking about since none of them were looking at her in the eye, but judging by their body language, the man she recognized was causing a bit of mischief. Maybe getting into a little trouble. .

Jenny watched curiously for a bit.

It looked like the bartender was glaring and handing him a tab. The man with the hat didn’t have any money.

Jenny held back chuckling, watching the whole thing go down.

A minute later Joxter was thrown out on the street right near her. He didn’t seem that phased though, maybe a little stunned from the landing, but actually a little amused.

“Well, fancy meeting you here,” Jenny strolled over casually. 

Joxter snapped his head towards her, a bit startled, but then he relaxed a bit.

“Oh hey, I know you don’t I?” Joxter stood up, taking a minute to recognize her. “Oh! You’re the girl I visited with Snufkin last winter. From that museum, right?”

“Yep,” Jenny nodded. “You’re Joxter, right?”

“The one and only,” Joxter gave a dramatic bow, grinning. “And you are. .” His face screwed up sheepishly as he tried to remember. “Uh, sorry. .” He rubbed his chin, pondering.

“It’s ok. We were both really stressed and busy when the whole museum thing happened, and after we only met for like a day. . My name’s Jenny,” Jenny said, holding her hand out to shake.

“Pleasure to. . More _officially_ meet you,” Joxter grinned, shaking it. Joxter’s eyes went a bit unfocused for a minute, then he sniffed the air. 

“Ok. what is that amazing smell coming from your coat?” He asked, eyes kind of wide.

Jenny raised a confused eyebrow at him, patting her coat pocket and remembering. “Oh. Cinnamon buns. My friend’s sister gave them to me,” Jenny shrugged.

Somehow he managed to persuade her to share with him. They walked towards the museum, though Joxter wasn’t really paying attention to where they were going, too busy sneakily swiping another one. 

Jenny sat on the steps outside the museum to wait for Quinn, eating the second to last cinnamon bun. Joxter tried to charm her into giving him the last one, but she was saving it for Quinn and she laughed at his attempts and his puppy dog eyes.

Quinn arrived, looking like he just finished up a really good nap on some rooftop somewhere. He had on the scarf Marelyn had made for him.

They got to talking about plans and other odds and ends.

Quinn refused the cinnamon roll so Joxter was elated and stuck around a bit longer, though when Jenny invited him to come with them to check out the museum he refused. He had places he wanted to go, naps he wanted to take, mischief to occasionally make. 

Quinn got really curious and circled around him a few times, asking lots of questions about where he’d been and what he planned to do. 

Joxter had some fun, telling obviously exaggerated stories and whatnot.

At one point though, Joxter paused. He got this really weird, distant, concerned face. 

“Hm?” Jenny murmured confused. 

He brought a paw to his head, rubbing it and grimacing like he had a sudden headache. A second later it looked like it was gone.

“What happened?” Quinn asked, tilting his head, brows creased a little.

“That. . Was one _weird_ foreboding,” Joxter murmured, glancing around them.

“Foreboding?” Quinn said confused, scratching his ear a little. Jenny raised an eyebrow. She and Quinn looked at each other and Jenny shrugged.

_“I don’t know.”_

Quinn looked back at Joxter to ask a question, but Joxter looked really zoned out. He stood up and sniffed the air a bunch, his shoulders a bit tense.

Jenny and Quinn stared. 

Joxter stopped and his shoulders dropped a little bit.

“Snufkin?” He murmured, staring at the museum behind them with a very confused look on his face.

“Snufkin? What do you mean, is he here?” Jenny stood up, her own confusion growing as she looked around to try and spot him.

“I can smell him,” Joxter murmured. “I think it’s a bit early for him to be this far away from Moominvalley though. .”

He started walking towards the museum. Jenny and Quinn followed.

“Snufkin. . I remember Snufkin. He was that guy who wore a lot of green,” Quinn was saying to himself, scrunching up his face to remember.

“Yep,” Jenny said. “You really think he’s here?” She asked Joxter, catching up and walking next to him. She would have been happier at the chance of seeing Snufkin if Joxter didn’t look so concerned.

“If he isn’t then he was recently,” Joxter said as they walked into the entrance. He tried walking straight through to the actual museum area, but a guard stopped him and said he needed a ticket. Joxter growled a little but Jenny grabbed his arm.

“I’ll get it. Just wait a minute,” she said, walking over to the line to get tickets. 

The line wasn’t that long so she was back with three tickets pretty quickly.

This definitely wasn’t how she imagined her museum trip would go, following Joxter around as he power-walked through, sniffing the air a bit as they went, looking around for Snufkin.

They passed by exhibits and cool artifacts and ancient pottery, not stopping to look at any of it as they got further and further into the museum. 

A few more minutes of searching later, Joxter stopped and rubbed his head again, getting that distant, concerned look. His eyes widened a bit and then he grimaced.

A minute later he was back to normal, but he looked worried.

“Something isn’t right and it has something to do with Snufkin. He might be in trouble,” Joxter said, tail whipping about as the rest of his body tensed really bad.

“How can you know?” Jenny asked, a little aghast. Quinn was tilting his head inquisitively again.

“Forebodings,” Joxter muttered, looking around anxiously.

“ _What?_ ” Jenny said, a little exasperatedly and confused.

“It’s not usually very clear, but this isn’t very usual. I’m going to find him,” Joxter said determinedly. He started walking off, but Jenny caught up. He seemed perfectly fine with doing it alone, but Jenny was starting to freak out a little and wanted to help. She wanted to make sure Snufkin was ok. 

They searched for a little while, occasionally splitting up a bit

There was a point where she thought she spotted him. Way far away, across the room, standing in front of an ancient vase. She gasped and started running over, but there were lots of people around and she kept losing sight of him.

When she got there he was gone, not a trace of him around. She kept glancing around everywhere, scanning the room. Where had he gone? She was sure it had been him. He hadn’t had his hat on though. That was weird.

She quickly checked the surrounding rooms, but no luck. If it really had been Snufkin, then he was already gone.

Jenny found herself staring at the vase she thought he’d been looking at. It was relatively small, but apparently very precious. It had interesting colors and carvings on it. It didn’t seem like the kind of thing Snufkin would care about though. . . 

Maybe it really wasn’t him. After all, since when did he just go around without his hat?

This all felt very weird. Jenny walked off to find Joxter and Quinn again. 

They didn’t give up looking. Joxter was eventually able to pick up Snufkin’s scent a little better.

Time passed and the museum got close to closing. They started getting antsier. 

Joxter’s nose led them back over to that vase. Jenny stared at it as they passed, wondering for the tenth time if that boy really had been Snufkin. . .

The scent eventually led them to the gift shop, and then outside, thankfully since the museum finally closed and they wouldn’t have been able to continue searching in there anyway.

On the downside, It got even harder to track the scent through the bustling city.

They kept at it as best they could, growing more tense the longer they went without finding him.

At some point, the scent led them on to rooftops. They were able to look over the bustling city, traveling above it for a while.

Joxter especially got more and more frustrated with all the other city smells interfering with his tracking. 

It got later and later. Soon it was dark out and the only light came from street lamps, windows, and the moon.

No one was quite ready to stop searching yet though.

So they kept at it.

………

Snufkin was on the roof of the museum. The second one Knoller had sent him to so far. Earlier he had scoped it out as a patron from the inside. 

He had his cloak on. He was pulling rope out of the bag he’d been given. He tied it to a metal pipe near the skylight, tugging hard on it to make sure it was secure.

He was sweating despite the cold, nervous about every little thing that could go wrong. 

There weren’t a lot of guards inside, at least in the section he was stealing from. The object he was assigned to retrieve was valuable but under light enough security to be stolen without too much trouble.

He put on his gloves. He’d waited so long because he didn’t like how they covered up his claws and made them practically unusable. 

He wasn’t supposed to get close enough to anyone to need to use them, but it still made him anxious.

Snufkin checked through the skylight for the fourth time, making sure the coast was clear. It was, so he carefully opened the hatch. 

His paws were shaking from nerves as he lowered the rope down, then lowered himself in, carefully climbing down. 

He felt his heart beating a bit faster in his chest as he glanced around, landing on the floor. 

He only had a few minutes before the guards would walk through and he had to be gone by then. 

He scurried quietly to the glass case with the vase in it. He took the lock picks out of his bag and quickly started on the lock, trying to take deep, steady breaths, trying not to think about the seconds ticking by too fast.

He finally got it, but the lock dropped on the floor before he had the chance to catch it and he nearly had a heart attack at the echoing noise it made.

As fast as he dared, he opened the case, took a cloth from his bag, grabbed the vase, wrapped it up, and stashed it.

He didn’t bother closing the case or anything, just running back to the rope and climbing up as fast as he could.

He was breathing rather heavily when he made it to the top and heaved himself back on the roof, his arms aching a little.

He hurried to pull the rope back up after him. 

He heard a door open in the room below him. Someone was checking the room!

Snufkin pulled up the rest of the rope and carefully closed the skylight as quietly as he possibly could, trying not to freak out too much as the guard walked around under him.

Snufkin retreated before the guard looked up so he wasn’t spotted, but he did hear the guard yelling in alarm when he noticed the vase missing.

They didn’t know which way he’d gone, but they would be searching. He was leaving _now_.

Heart pounding, he ran across the rooftop, jumping over to the next one, cape billowing out behind him. He was headed for the train station. He didn’t have a lot of time to spare if he was going to make it before the train left.

He jumped to the next building, weaving around chimneys, around random plants, passed clotheslines and chairs people had left up there.

He jumped to another one with tons of still damp sheets billowing in the wind. He kept going and going.

Up ahead there were some people, up on a roof as well. They were pretty far and they hadn’t spotted him yet. Snufkin didn’t want to try to sneak past them, so he found an escape ladder that led to an alley and climbed down, running along a backstreet for a while. 

He didn’t like being on the ground though. Too many people who could spot him and get suspicious, so once he was sure he was past the building he’d seen people on, he found another fire escape and climbed up, cautiously looking over the edge before climbing all the way onto the roof.

He kept on running, getting about halfway to the station when someone yelled his name. 

“Snufkin?!”

He jerked around, in surprise. Did someone see him stealing without him realizing?! They recognized him?! Did he _fail!?_

He caught sight of who it was two rooftops away. He gasped.

Jenny had been the first one to call his name in surprise. Now his Dad was running full speed towards him looking like a mix between relieved and worried.

“Snufkin, are you ok?” His dad yelled desperately.

Snufkin’s first emotion was shock, but it quickly descended into dread when he realized he couldn’t talk to them. He couldn’t tell them anything, he had to escape, and they were going to make this one hundred times more stressful and difficult.

He bolted away, breathing heavier than before and really freaking out.

They yelled his name, clearly surprised at his reaction, running after him.

How were they here in the first place?! If they managed to follow him back to Knoller’s hideout he’d kill one of Snufkin’s friends!

This was much worse.

They were going to be confused and worried about him, but he had to lose them. 

He dodged around a few chimneys that were billowing smoke. He jumped over a few boxes. His feet pounded beneath him.

“Snufkin! What’s going on? It’s _us_ ,” Jenny yelled, running and panting behind Joxter. Quinn was flying only a little behind her.

They heard sirens bellow them. Some of the police were yelling rather loudly about the theft and keeping an eye out for suspicious-looking people and the vase.

Snufkin was grimacing. They weren’t stupid. They could probably put it together.

“Snufkin, just _wait_ , what the heck is going on?!” Joxter yelled, trying to put in a burst of speed.

Snufkin didn’t stop. He leaped over to the next building, momentum causing him to stumble a bit on the landing so he dove into a roll and sprang back up. His back hurt a bit from it, but it wasn’t a pain that would last long. He kept going, panting, seeing the station up ahead, but he knew he should lose them before he got on the train, or they would catch him.

He glanced back for a second. Jenny kept glancing down at where the sirens were and back up at him, growing distraughtness on her face.

Crap. Yep. She was figuring it out. _Crap._

Why did this have to happen?! If they told the police who he was, that he was the thief, he would be more recognizable, he might get caught, Knoller was going to punish him, _Moomintroll was going to get hurt, Oh god-_

He was breathing rather frantically, trying to keep those thoughts from overwhelming him. What the heck was he going to tell Knoller when he got back?!

He found another fire escape and climbed down quickly just one level, then climbed on the railing and jumped over to the fire escape on the opposite building. He bolted back up to the next roof.

Just as he reached the top he felt the whole metal frame rattle as his dad jumped on. Jenny couldn’t jump as far so she was climbing down.

_Crap, crap, crap!_

Snufkin scurried up to the next roof, panting heavily.

“Snufkin-” his dad’s voice was way too close. Snufkin glanced back with wide eyes just as Joxter managed to grab his scarf.

Snufkin twisted around and pulled away, staring at his Dad who now stared back, looking flabbergasted, now just holding the scarf.

There was a tense moment of silence as his Dad spotted the collar and Snufkin continued to freak out even worse.

He couldn’t go back without his scarf, what was he supposed to tell them?!

“I _need_ that,” Snufkin whispered frantically, his voice a bit gravely, still panting, and reaching out a shaky paw towards the scarf.

“Snufkin, what-” Joxter seemed flabbergasted, taking a step towards Snufkin only for Snufkin to scurry backward a few steps. 

“What is _that?_ What’s going on?”

Snufkin stared at him, clenching his teeth as his eyes watered frustratingly. He couldn’t tell him. It was too risky.

He shook his head, grabbing his bag tight. His dad just looked more distraught. 

He could smell smoke, he could hear the sirens far away, he could feel the chill air seeping into his cloak.

“Son, why won’t you talk to me?” Joxter said, voice shaking a little, trying to hold out his paw in a reassuring way and slowly taking a step forward. Snufkin still backed up.

Joxter paused, looking even more worried. Seconds ticked by. Joxter glanced towards where the sirens were coming from and back at Snufkin.

“You know, if you did something wrong I won’t be upset. I’ll always love you no matter what, and you know I’d never turn you in,” Joxter said, trying to sound as calm as he could. 

It just made tears pool worse in Snufkin’s eyes. He took another step back towards the ledge, taking a shaky breath.

“Heck, I’ve had those days. You know I’m not the most upstanding citizen,” Joxter tried to chuckle light-heartedly, but it still came out anxious and worried.

Snufkin shook his head again, clenching his bag tighter and grabbing his cloak around his neck, trying to hide his collar.

More time passed as the air grew more tense. Joxter got increasingly worried and frustrated about his son’s silence.

“Snufkin, _please_ just talk to me, we can figure this out,” He said desperately, barely stopping himself from trying to move closer.

Snufkin really didn’t want to cry again, but his Dad just made that increasingly difficult. 

“I can’t,” he whispered shakily. “I can’t tell you. I _need_ my scarf back,” Snufkin said, trying desperately to keep his voice steady and failing miserably. 

Joxter glanced down at the scarf in his paw, he opened his mouth to say something else, but that was when Jenny made it up, panting and being pulled along a bit by Quinn.

Snufkin tensed up even worse and retreated closer to the ledge.

Joxter quickly put a paw out, warning her not to get closer and scare him away.

“Snufkin,” Jenny panted desperately. “What’s going on? You are freaking us out, _seriously_.” Quinn crouched next to her, glancing between Joxter and Snufkin confusedly.

Snufkin heard the train whistle. He was running out of time. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, trembling. He turned around and leaped over to the next roof, bolting as fast as he could around a big chimney so they’d lose sight of him.

He heard them yelling his name and knew they’d keep trying to follow him, but he didn’t dare glance back.

He hopped down to another fire escape as quietly and quickly as he could, jumping to another one, ducking into an open window, and shutting it behind him. He ran through the hallway he’d just emerged into and found another window.

He checked to make sure the coast was clear and crept back out, going back down into an alleyway. 

He raced along the ground as fast as he could, still clutching his cloak tight over the collar.

He turned down a few different streets, pulling his hood further over his head, slowing down when there were more people around so he didn’t look like he was hurrying to escape and people wouldn’t get suspicious.

He blended in as best he could, turning down a few more streets so he wasn’t going straight to the station.

He was pretty sure he’d lost them. He didn’t relax yet though.

He darted inside the train station, sneaking past the ticket counters and guards. 

The train started to leave without him. He ran to catch up with it, just barely managing to jump on while it was in motion.

Boy that was close.

He scurried inside a carriage with a bunch of luggage and found a place to curl up and hide.

He felt the vase, heavy in his bag. He pulled his hood far down over his face, clutching it tightly.

He lost his scarf. His dad had his scarf. What was he going to tell Knoller? He wasn’t supposed to get close enough for anyone to be able to snatch it. Did he dare lie? 

Snufkin believed his father when he said he wouldn’t turn him in. That at least was a huge weight off of his chest, but would Knoller believe that? How would he react if Snufkin told him the truth that his own Dad spotted him and took his scarf?

It felt like no matter what he said someone was going to get hurt. 

That thought alone sent icy shivers down his back and he curled up tighter into a ball.

He didn’t know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amelia pressured my other sister into reading Rare Specimen. It's kind of hilarious to watch. She even bribed her with smarties. Not even fresh smarties, smarties that were picked off of the roof of a gingerbread house that sat out for a week.
> 
> I've just been watching from the shadows, ready to pop out of the darkness with a creepy grin, asking her thoughts on each chapter she reads. She seems to like it though, so that's awesome.


	8. Do You Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knollermaiden has an important conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's only two days till Christmas! And I still have a present to make and two things to wrap. . Today's a busy day.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! It was an interesting one to write. Merry Christmas!
> 
> And drink some water too.

Jenny stared at the empty case from afar. Police tape kept her from getting any closer.

It must have been Snufkin. It had to be, but _why?_

What use could Snufkin possibly have for it? It was an ancient artifact. It wasn’t very useful, and he wouldn’t care about selling it since he doesn’t care about money. Why in the world would he steal it?

Snufkin had been so panicked up on the roof. He clearly recognized them, but he ran. 

Jenny was staring at the ground as she thought to herself. She was walking back outside.

Joxter was sitting on the steps outside the museum, clutching and staring at the yellow scarf still in his paws.

He had tried to continue tracking Snufkin for a while. Quinn was still flying about trying to spot him, but Jenny had to see for herself if the vase that was stolen was the same one she’d seen him looking at.

Police were still around so she kept her voice low.

“It was him,” She murmured, standing next to him. He stood up, still staring distraughtly at the scarf.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone,” He said quietly but fiercely as they started walking.

“Course not,” she muttered, walking fast to keep up with him.

Joxter was murmuring to himself. 

“He had on something like a collar. Why in the _world_ would he wear a collar?” He said, distraught and worried and just baffled. He didn’t even seem to realize he was talking out loud.

“Wait _what?_ ” Jenny looked at him, bewildered and concerned.

He glanced at her as they walked.

“When he pulled away and the scarf came off, it was hiding a leather collar,” He muttered, brows creased. “He was hiding it in his cloak by the time you got there. .”

“A _collar?_ ” Jenny repeated, confounded. She was having trouble wrapping her head around it. 

Snufkin wearing anything that didn’t have some practical use was bewildering, but a _collar?_ Like something you put on a pet? Something constricting? Snufkin would never choose to wear something like that in a million years.

Never choose to wear something like that. . .

And he would never care about the vase. .

Jenny’s eyes widened.

“Someone must have told him to steal that vase,” she said in a low voice. “And we both know he would never willingly wear a collar. He is clearly in some kind of trouble we need to get him out of.”

Joxter only nodded, unsurprised at her conclusion. “If I could just catch his scent again. . .” he murmured frustratedly.

Jenny thought back to when she’d seen Snufkin on the roof, trying to analyze it, but then she spotted Quinn flying towards them hurriedly.

“I think I saw him get on a train,” Quinn said urgently, landing in front of them.

“Which one?” Joxter asked, tensing like he was ready to bolt towards the train station the moment the word was given.

“It left a few minutes ago as he got on, but it was heading north,” Quinn pointed.

“North?” Joxter murmured, staring into space a minute. “Moominvalley is north. . . Could he be going back there?”

“Did you read which stations that train was stopping at?” Jenny asked.

“Um, I could go check,” Quinn said uncertainly, flying up again.

“We’re coming,” Jenny said. Joxter started bolting towards the station, Jenny a little behind and Quinn somewhere in between.

Jenny saw the clock tower and noticed how close to midnight it was. She wondered if any of them were going to manage to sleep that night. .

………

Knollermaiden hadn’t moved for the longest time. She stared at the wall or buried her head in her lap for the most part.

Knoller wouldn’t let her out.

It had been a few days now, and she cried often, especially when she remembered her plants weren’t being taken care of and some of the fussier ones were going to die without her.

She had been nearly heartbroken about that. 

After all of her friends stopped talking to her, her garden had been all she had left. It had been her only real comfort for months now, and it was dying.

She had begged her uncle, over and over, to at _least_ find someone to take care of them, but he refused. He didn’t get it. It was too much of a bother.

Knollermaiden was sitting, still as ever, dissociating at the wall. Her eyes were a bit red, her mouth just ever so slightly open, staring into the void.

She was very thirsty. She had been crying again a minute ago, but right then she was completely silent.

Most everything was silent right then. Knoller was in his office. Gib was sitting at the table. The cage’s other occupants were gazing around looking bored.

She didn’t exactly notice all that. She wasn’t fully aware. 

This went on for an hour. If anything happened, she hadn’t noticed.

Then another hour.

There was movement around her, but she wasn’t paying attention.

A while later Snorkmaiden approached her, holding out a cup of water. That finally snapped Knollermaiden back into reality.

Snorkmaiden looked a bit stiff and awkward, but her posture wasn’t at all hostile. Sometimes she was still kind of cold, but she was never as angry as that day in the valley.

She held out the cup and Knollermaiden took it.

“Thank you. .” Knollermaiden whispered, feeling incredibly shy for no good reason. That had been what most of her interactions were like.

Knoller didn’t like them talking, but when he was visiting Lakeworth, Gib didn’t enforce it and didn’t rat them out, so they talked then.

Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll always seemed to feel awkward, while Knollermaiden just got very shy and anxious.

“Do you know what he did?” Knollermaiden asked, whispering nervously one time.

“What?” Moomintroll said at first, not getting what she meant. 

“What my uncle did to your friend. He-. . . He never answered me when I asked,” She whispered in a bit of a squeaky, nervous voice, huddling her knees closer to her chest.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden looked at each other uncertainly.

“He never liked talking about it,” Snorkmaiden finally said, staring at the floor.

“He told me some, but it was months before he started opening up,” Moomintroll murmured, picking at the bandages on his arm.

“Can you please tell me? I can’t stand not knowing,” She trembled, staring at the boy troll with wide eyes. 

“Snufkin is a rather private person. Some of it’s kind of personal,” Moomintroll said carefully. “Haven’t you been visiting Knoller for years? How can you possibly not know anyway?” He said a bit incredulously, an eyebrow raised. 

“. . I don’t know, they always seemed ok,” She said, staring at the ground. “And he always said they were ok. . . . .But I guess the guests upset them a lot. .”

She shivered a little, remembering a few of the worst times. She’d always blocked out those memories in the past, content to believe Knoller when he said everything was ok, but now she seemed to be remembering those moments often.

Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll stared at her incredulously. Like she was missing something obvious.

“He. . . He said he was letting more trustworthy people see them. Why were _they_ trustworthy? They were always so impatient,” She murmured.

“Ever think he only trusted them to keep the secret and not call the cops on him?” Snorkmaiden said.

Knollermaiden’s eyes widened. She stared at Snorkmaiden. She processed that revelation. 

There was a bit of an awkward silence for a bit.

“So don’t you remember anything else? You couldn’t have visited him multiple times a week for _years_ without seeing something was messed up,” Snorkmaiden said. Her arms were crossed.

Knollermaiden screwed up her face a little, trying to remember. It felt weird remembering the museum like this, trying to recall only bad things. 

“Uh. . . I guess they did often seem upset even before the guests came,” She murmured, staring into space. “And, I think. .” She remembered something she hadn’t thought about in years. She gasped a little, shivering. “I think I saw one or two of them hurt themselves before,” she breathed, staring at nothing.

“Hurt themselves?” Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden looked very concerned, staring at her a little flabbergasted.

Her stomach felt a little sick remembering. “They had these thick bracelets on. Sometimes I see them around, but they’re always gone later. . This one boy was very angry for a while and he kept pulling on it, but it looked like he kept hurting himself,” She whispered timidly. “But Uncle said there was nothing wrong. He said he would stop, and eventually he did. . .”

“Snufkin had one of those bracelets,” Moomintroll said, brows creased.

Knollermaiden snapped her head up at him, staring. Then she remembered. She had seen one on Snufkin the first day she saw him. . .

“Jenny got one too. And Quinn apparently. . Probably everyone at some point.” Moomintroll said this, staring at her very seriously. “You know what Snufkin said they did? They _electrocute_ you. He said it hurts really bad and Knoller keeps doing it over and over until you do what he says. That’s how he trains them.” Moomintroll said ‘ _train_ ’ very bitterly like it was a dirty word. “Or at least one of the ways he trains them. .” Moomintroll glared lividly at the wall.

Knollermaiden stared at him agape. She must have asked her Uncle at some point over the years how he trained creatures, but he never said anything about _hurting_ them over and over. That sounded awful!

“You wanna know another way he trains them?” Moomintroll stared at her, still glaring some. He held out his bandaged arm. “This.”

Knollermaiden got very pale, staring at the bandages. “What- what do you mean,” she blubbered, dreading what she was hearing.

“Your uncle hurt him. He hurt Moomintroll because Snufkin just questioned one of his orders. Moomintroll shielded me,” Snorkmaiden murmured the last part, shivering a little at the memory. “. . . He shielded me and he got hurt. And Snufkin-” She hesitated, getting rather pale. 

Knollermaiden kept glancing between them, mouth still agape, shivering a little. Neither seemed to want to go on. 

The silence that stretched on was almost unbearable.

“. . . Snufkin took it worse than I did,” Moomintroll muttered worriedly, picking at the bandages a little.

Nobody spoke for the longest time. 

Knollermaiden heard their conversation echoing over and over in her head, conflicting terribly with everything Knoller had been telling her for years. It made a huge, jumbled, confusing, horrifying mess. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Everything was just so messy.

Things kept swirling around in her mind, just making her feel dizzy and sick.

One of her paws gripped a bar of the cage tightly. She needed to feel something solid, something grounding. 

The whole world had been slowly turning upside down on her for months now and she was holding on for dear life, trying to figure out what was what.

They weren’t able to talk after that because Knoller got back from Lakeworth’s place. 

Knollermaiden stared at him for a bit, anxiously wondering if she should ask when he was going to let her go home again. 

In the end, she was too scared to.

Her eyes got very wet, but she didn’t really cry like before. She rested her head on her knees, breathing shakily as thoughts continued to swim around like a whirlpool in her head.

A long time later they were given food. Then a few hours later people were settling in to try and sleep.

…

The next morning started out like the previous few had. Little happened. Everything was pretty quiet. Knollermaiden found herself staring into space and thinking a lot.

Then someone opened the door. 

The sound nudged Knollermaiden back into reality and she looked up. She gasped when she saw it was Snufkin. She immediately thought back to the last time she saw him, worried he would react the same way he had then.

He didn’t notice her yet though. He stood by the door after he closed it, taking a bag off of his shoulders.

His paws were shaking, she noticed. He looked very distressed and nervous, and she wondered where his hat was. She’d never seen him without it. He also had on a cloak. .

Knoller was staring at Snufkin expectantly, slowly walking over with a self-satisfied grin that Knollermaiden had only ever seen on him when he was showing off his prized collection in the past.

Snufkin mostly looked at the floor.

“. . I got it,” Snufkin whispered, holding out the bag.

Knoller’s grin widened as he took the bag and opened it. “And were you spotted?” He raised an eyebrow.

“. . . . No,” Snufkin murmured, getting a bit pale.

“Course not,” Knoller grinned, looking through the bag and taking out a cloth that was wrapped around something. “Lakeworth will be checking newspapers anyway as usual.” 

Snufkin only grew paler. Meanwhile, Knoller walked over to the table with the bundle he had in his paws. He put on a very clean glove and unwrapped the bundle, inspecting a very intricate, colorful vase.

“Excellent,” Knoller said, turning the vase around in his paws. 

Knollermaiden watched with growing confusion and concern. What was going on? 

Things that Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll had said were clicking together in her head. She just grew more worried the more she watched.

She turned to look back at Snufkin, who was still by the door, and found him staring at her. His mouth was a little open and he was completely frozen, confusion, bafflement, and apprehension painting his face. He was glancing between her and his friends, a thousand unasked questions clearly running through his head.

Snufkin looked back at Knoller for a minute, then back at Knollermaiden, confusion and apprehension growing.

“Snufkin.”

Snufkin flinched, snapping his gaze back at Knoller and tensing up, mouth snapping closed.

Knoller had wrapped up the vase again and put it back in the bag. Now he was gazing at Snufkin with a raised eyebrow.

“Where is your scarf? It’s not in your bag. I don’t see it on you,” Knoller looked skeptical and stern, slowly walking back over to Snufkin.

Snufkin leaned his back against the door. Knollermaiden realized he’d started trembling.

“. . . I lost it,” Snufkin whispered, huddling his arms close to his chest, unable to look up at him.

“You _lost_ it?” Knoller leaned over him, voice very low and interrogating, gaze suspicious.

Snufkin got even paler, trembling worse.

Knollermaiden stared with wide eyes, frozen in place as she watched it go down.

“I- It got caught on something, It was either leave it or be seen,” Snufkin said in a very shaky, clearly terrified voice, pressing his back against the door. “I held my cloak over the collar, no one suspects anything.” His voice got quieter and quieter as he spoke, trembling worse than ever.

Knoller gazed at him very seriously.

Knollermaiden only then noticed the leather collar around Snufkin’s neck. It was very. . Off Putting. Something about it just made her stomach squirm uncomfortably. 

Knoller seemed to be carefully considering Snufkin’s words.

“This could be very serious Snufkin,” Knoller said, voice incredibly low and threatening, leaning over Snufkin who shrank down a bit. “How close is it to the museum?”

“I was over halfway to the train station when it got caught,” Snufkin said, voice very small, huddling in on himself more. “I’m not sure where, but no one would think to connect it to the museum.”

“And you’re certain you would have been spotted if you went back for it?” Knoller asked seriously, scrutinizing him.

“I didn’t want to risk it,” Snufkin mumbled, shivering.

Knoller gazed at him. A few tense seconds ticked by. He grabbed Snufkin’s chin and made him look up at him. Snufkin had flinched badly and now completely froze up, staring back with wide eyes.

Knoller stared at him for a minute.

Knollermaiden heard Moomintroll growl nearby. She looked and saw the troll very tensed up, looking worried but also ready to snap. 

She snapped her gaze back to Knoller and Snufkin, stomach churning with worry and dread.

“This could have been a very serious blunder,” Knoller said slowly and methodically, voice still very low. Snufkin was almost as white as a ghost. “However, in this particular scenario, it seems nothing truly damaging occurred. So punishment will be minimal.”

Without any other warning, Knoller let go of Snufkin’s chin and slapped him hard.

Snufkin seemed rather stunned. He held a paw on his cheek, staring back at Knoller warily.

Knollermaiden had gasped sharply and covered her mouth with her paws, staring with wide eyes in shock at her uncle, stomach twisting terribly. 

“You need to be more careful in the future. If something like this happens again, I won’t be so lenient. Someone _else_ will be getting hurt. Do you understand me?” Knoller said sternly.  
Snufkin nodded.

“Good. Go sit,” Knoller pointed to the wall on the opposite side of the room to the cage and Snufkin scampered off. 

Knollermaiden stared, almost in disbelief. Her uncle really just did that?! He just _slapped_ him? 

And yet Snufkin almost looked relieved. It was in a very subtle way like he was trying to hide it. He sat, leaning against the wall, tucking his legs close.

Moomintroll hurried to the edge of the cage closest to Snufkin, ending up right next to Knollermaiden.

He grabbed the bars tightly, giving Snufkin a very pointed, concerned look.

Snufkin rubbed his cheek a little, staring into space before glancing up at Moomintroll. Snufkin mouthed,

_I’m ok._

Moomintroll still looked worried, but he was a little less so.

Snufkin glanced at Knollermaiden and gave Moomintroll a look, creasing his eyebrows in utter befuddlement.

Moomintroll shrugged and mouthed,

_It’s weird._

Snufkin didn’t need convincing. He often glanced between Knoller and Knollermaiden, unasked questions painfully clear in his eyes.

Knollermaiden nervously nudged Moomintroll’s arm.

“What just happened?” She whispered, wide-eyed.

Moomintroll glanced at Knoller and back at her.

“Knoller’s been “training” Snufkin. Using _us_ ,” Moomintroll whispered back, glaring at the word _'training'_. “He ordered Snufkin to steal that vase. .”

“Hey,” Knoller barked, glaring at them. “Be quiet.”

Knollermaiden shuddered, huddling in on herself more.

“We were being quiet. Whispering is quiet,” Moomintroll said flatly.

“Don’t get smart with me boy,” Knoller glared. 

“Why not? Intelligence is a worthy thing to have,” Moomintroll muttered, voice still very flat.

“Not in your position, boy. Besides, you’re scaring your friend,” Knoller gestured over at Snufkin who indeed looked very tense, staring between Moomintroll and Knoller, getting pale again.

Moomintroll looked worried for a minute, but then he just glared at Knoller.

“No. This isn’t on me. _You’re_ the one who’s scaring him. _You’re_ the one who’s always threatening people.”

Knoller glared again. He glanced briefly at Knollermaiden. “Shut Up.”

Moomintroll had noticed the glance though. He glanced at Knollermaiden too, then narrowed his eyes at Knoller.

“What? Worried we’re revealing too much to your precious niece?”

Snufkin was shaking, staring apprehensively. 

Knoller’s glare deepened. He opened his mouth to say something, but Moomintroll beat him to it, realization on his face.

“That’s what this is, isn’t it? You don’t want her to know everything. You don’t want to have to brainwash her all over again,” Moomintroll said, gaze hardening, sounding almost disgusted.

Knollermaiden stared between Knoller and Moomintroll, mouth open, processing what she was hearing. 

“I told you to _shut up_ ,” Knoller said threateningly, stalking over.

“You can’t even deny it? Wow,” Moomintroll said, raising an eyebrow incredulously. “Was it that _difficult_ to convince her? Was it-”

“Are you kidding? Training her was almost as easy as training _him_ was,” Knoller growled, pointing at Snufkin at the last bit.

Everyone was frozen, staring at him. You could have heard a pin drop.

Knollermaiden’s mouth hung open as she gazed at her uncle. 

He trained _her?_

Training creatures had never really felt like a bad thing before then, so she was just baffled, thoughts swirling around and around, twisting into a confusing mess.

Snorkmaiden’s brows were creased in disbelief, staring at Knoller. Snufkin was staring incredulously at the whole thing.

And Gib. He’d been silent as ever the whole time, barely noticeable. Completely forgotten about. Now he stared between Knoller and his niece, looking disoriented and disturbed.

“Listen here boy,” Knoller said, reaching through the bars of the cage, quick as a snake, snagging Moomintroll’s arm and jerking him over. “If I hear one more word out of you, I _will_ get out the poker. I don’t care who sees it. I _will_ hurt you again,” Knoller glared lividly as he spoke. 

Moomintroll stared back, brows creased. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Knoller continued.

“And even if you’re “too noble” or whatever to have a sense of self-preservation, I’ll make your precious half breed watch. You don’t want him crying again, now do you?” Knoller’s anger finally started seeping away, slowly being replaced with a creepy smirk.

Moomintroll paused, gaze still hardened, but he wasn’t talking.

Knoller let go of him, giving him a final warning look before stalking back over to the table.

Snufkin was trembling, hiding his face behind his knees like he’d been scared to watch.

Knollermaiden glanced around at everyone as things seemed to settle into quiet again. Things were going back to normal, but it felt off.

The day passed and nothing else happened. All they could do was sit with their thoughts and wait.

And Knollermaiden had a _lot_ to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts I had while figuring out this chapter:
> 
> Wait a minute, if I want Knoller to keep up his status as the guy who doesn't make empty threats, I gotta have him do something about the scarf. He's gotta punish someone or he might lose his threateningness. . . But what am I gonna make him do?  
> I don't want to make him stab Moomintroll or Snorkmaiden again. . . Too heavy. Too uncomfortable. What to do, what to do?
> 
> Agghhh!! What's he gonna do?
> 
> (time passes and I brainstorm. Probably get distracted once or twice.)
> 
> Hmmm. . What if. . He just slaps him? That already sounds really uncomfortable to write, what am I thinking?  
> Then again, how is that worse than the stabbing? What is with my brain?  
> Ok, let's go with it. Sorry Snufkin, you're getting slapped, but it's not as bad as what you were fearing so you're welcome I guess, lol
> 
> (feels weirder than usual writing it for some reason.)
> 
> Why am I like this?


	9. All She Had Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knoller talks to his niece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I had a good Christmas! I'm exhausted though. The kitchen is a mess and I need to clean it today. . . Oh well. Life goes on.
> 
> I hope your Christmas was awesome too, and if you don't celebrate, I hope your day was peaceful anyway. 
> 
> If you didn't have a good day, then here's a new chapter to hopefully lift your spirits. Then again this chapter, in particular, doesn't have much of anything good happen. . . But don't worry, things turn around for Knollermaiden relatively soon!

The next day they all moved to Lakeworth’s mansion. It was very sudden. Lakeworth sent a bunch of men to help keep Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden in check.

Knoller leashed Snufkin and gave him a job.

His job was to keep Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden relatively calm and keep them from making trouble with the guards.

They walked in a big group. Knoller was at the front, holding Snufkin’s leash in one paw and Knollermaiden’s arm in the other. Snufkin trailed behind, right next to Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden, with guards completely surrounding them so they couldn’t try running off.

Gib was in the back, carrying a few important things, including the bag with the vase.

It was a very long, very tense journey with little rest. 

Knollermaiden had to take quick steps to keep up with Knoller’s long strides. The way he held her arm was similar to how a gentleman might, but it was firm and she wouldn’t be able to pull away if she tried.

She often worriedly glanced back at Snorkmaiden and the others.

The hours of travel and having to keep up with her uncle made her legs ache. She wanted to speak up, but she couldn’t even get her mouth open to start. It was scary. . .

When they finally made it to the mansion, Knoller handed her over to a few servants who were going to take her to her room. 

Knollermaiden stared after Snorkmaiden and the others, worry churning in her stomach as she was led off.

The servants brought her to a simple guest room on the second floor. It was spacious and had a nicely made bed, some windows giving a view of Lakeworth’s gardens, a vanity with a mirror and some things on it, and a wardrobe.

The servants left her by herself.

Knollermaiden was as still as a statue, staring around at the room. It was so quiet. 

Sunlight streamed through the window and the garden outside reminded her of her own one back home. . .

She glanced back at the door. Hesitantly, she reached out a paw and grabbed the handle. It was locked. 

She shuddered, hugging herself. She still didn’t move from where she stood. She couldn’t move. It was _too_ quiet.

The silence pressed down around her, almost suffocating.

A leaf blew by the window. Dust floated through the light. The scent of cleaning chemicals reached her nose.

She was suddenly very aware of her own heartbeat. It thumped along, echoing in her chest, almost ringing in her ears, the only thing she could hear in this deafening silence.

The stillness of it all was becoming overwhelming. 

She was frozen for a very long time, just breathing and listening to her heartbeat. It could have been a whole hour before she managed to move.

When she did it was very hesitant and slow. She crept over to the bed and pulled the blanket off, wrapping it around her shoulders.

She crouched on the floor next to the bed, leaning against it and watching the door, shivering a little and pulling the blanket tighter around her.

There she stayed, just waiting for who knows what.

An hour passed.

She wished there was a clock ticking nearby, or footsteps on the other side of the door, or birds chirping, just _something_ to distract from this oppressive, overwhelming silence.

Another hour passed. 

Shadows moved on the walls as the sun lowered. She just kept waiting. She grew more anxious. She could still feel her heartbeat thudding along.

Another hour passed.

It might be twilight soon. She was still just sitting there.

Then she heard footsteps. She gasped quietly.

They came right up to her door. She heard the key sliding into the lock, and then a minute later the door opened calmly and she was staring up at her uncle.

Knoller gazed at her with a tired, resigned expression. He closed the door and walked over to where she was still huddled on the floor.

He held out his paw to help her up.

She didn’t think she really wanted to move, but she took it anyway and he pulled her to her feet.

He sat on the bed. Knollermaiden sat too, maybe a foot away, staring anxiously at the floor, blanket still tight around her.

Her heartbeat was still steady, but a bit faster, and even louder in her ears.

A minute of tense silence pressed down on them.

“We have a lot we need to talk about,” Knoller started slowly and calmly. He waited a bit, looking at her expectantly so Knollermaiden nodded sheepishly.

More silence passed. Knoller was carefully considering how he was going to explain things to her.

“I know I haven’t been. . . The nicest person lately,” Knoller went on carefully. “I know you’re very confused. You don’t understand why I need to do some of these things.”

Knollermaiden glanced at him anxiously, remembering every terrible thing she’d seen that week, and everything Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden had told her about.

“But I hope you still know that I _do_ care about you. You’re all the family I’ve got left, and family sticks together. You’re my niece, and I will always care about you Knollermaiden,” Knoller said, patting her shoulder.

Knollermaiden covered her mouth with her paw, emotion bubbling around and rising up in her like an ocean. She was getting rather teary-eyed.

“You need to trust me when I say I’m looking out for you. I may not be able to explain everything, but you know I’m not trying to hurt you right?” Knoller waited for a response.

Knollermaiden felt she could barely talk without crying. “But everything hurts,” she managed to whisper, voice cracking. Tears were leaking out. “Everything’s been hurting for _so_ long.”

“It does hurt. We’ve both been hurting plenty for a while, haven’t we?” Knoller said, sighing. “We were much happier back when we could live on the same road, back when we could visit and have company over, you could bake, and I could show off. We _were_ happy,” he trailed off, looking steadily at her.

Knollermaiden nodded, lips tightly closed, tears trailing down her face. Those had been happy days.

“We were happy. But we’re not anymore, are we? Don’t you remember why?” Knoller said seriously. 

Knollermaiden looked back at him in confusion. 

“It’s Snorkmaiden and her friends. It’s everyone who ruined my museum and made me a wanted man. Don’t you see _they’re_ the reason we’re suffering now? Don’t you see why I have to do this?” Knoller said, explaining carefully and seriously.

Knollermaiden stared at him with her mouth slightly open. She spoke quietly and timidly.

“. . But, Snorkmaiden. . . She-”

“She used you,” Knoller glared a little, but he wasn’t directing his anger at her. “Don’t you remember? She _used_ you. She didn’t want to be your friend. She wormed her way into our affairs, into our family, all just to tear us apart.”

Knollermaiden stared at him warily, those words sinking in. She looked back at the floor, thinking about it.

She wanted to just trust him. She accepted that Snorkmaiden was never really her friend, but she found she wasn’t angry. By how Knoller was acting, she thought she _should_ be angry, but the emotion was just gone. Just didn’t exist there.

Maybe it was because she knew why Snorkmaiden did it.

Snufkin had been suffering and Snorkmaiden came to help him.

Knollermaiden should have been mad, but instead, she felt empty and hollow in her gut. Sure she wasn’t mad, but she was still very upset. Just more sad. Heartbroken even. She needed to cry again pretty badly. . .

“ _They_ hurt us. _They_ deserve this. I’m just rebuilding my life where I can. And maybe I’ve been a bit rough. Maybe I’ve made a few mistakes where you’re concerned. Maybe I’ve snapped at you a few times, but neither of us are perfect,” Knoller said, scooting just a little closer to her.

Knollermaiden took a shaky breath, trying to hold back tears. 

Knoller sighed.

“But I still care about you. I’m doing this for both of our good.”

There was a very long silence between them. It stretched out for ages before Knoller finally spoke again.

“Listen. I won’t keep you away from home forever, but you’re going to have to stay a while longer,” Knoller said gently, but there was no suggestion in his voice. She didn’t get a choice.

Knollermaiden shrunk down a bit, curling in a little more and pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

“I know it’s not ideal, but I need to be sure I can trust you. I need to be sure whatever that girl put in your head won’t be a danger to everything I’ve managed to build back up,” Knoller said seriously. “You understand?”

Hesitating at first, Knollermaiden nodded shakily.

Knoller patted her shoulder. 

“You’ll have to stay in here for the most part at first, but you’ll be able to roam the gardens with an escort sometimes, and I’ll be in to visit you occasionally. It’s not for forever, I promise you. It won’t be long,” He reassured her. He seemed to wait for her to respond.

“. . Ok,” she whispered timidly, curling up a bit more.

Knoller gave her a somewhat tired smile. “I’ve got something for you actually,” he shuffled through his coat pocket and pulled out a little box. He opened it and pulled out a necklace.

Knollermaiden stared at it a minute. It had an oval-shaped locket on the end and the whole thing was the same color as Snufkin’s collar.

Knoller reached over and put it over her head before she was really ready. He moved her hair out of the way and then carefully opened it to show her the picture inside.

“You should keep it with you wherever you go so you can remember your family,” Knoller said with a little grin. “You can remember that you’ll always be _my_ niece and you can always trust me.”

Knollermaiden was staring blankly at the pictures. One side was her, and the other side was her uncle.

“Ok. . .” she whispered again, staring at it.

Her Uncle seemed satisfied. He went ahead and closed the locket, then he patted her shoulder one more time and slowly stood up.

“I have a lot of business I need to attend to. I’m glad we talked. We’ll be sending servants to check on you every once in a while if you need anything,” He said, walking over to the door.

He paused at the door and Knollermaiden looked up at him.

“We’ll have lunch together tomorrow. You still like raspberry jam, don’t you? I’ll make sure we have some,” he said lightly. He walked out and closed the door softly behind him.

She heard him lock it again.

Knollermaiden listened as his footsteps faded away. She sat there a minute more.

Slowly, She moved over and laid down on one of the pillows. She stared a bit blankly at the locket, holding it in her hand. 

Thoughts swirled around confusingly in her head. She grimaced a little. Everything was just upside down and inside out, flipping around, keeping her from knowing what to think about anything.

She was crying again. She just had too many emotions conflicting around her. She barely made a sound though, just shaking and getting her pillow very wet and taking sharp, shaky breaths.

She cried for a very long time.

…

The next few days dragged on with little to do.

She wished she knew where Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll and Snufkin were. She hadn’t seen them at all. . .

There were many questions she wanted to ask her Uncle, but she never did. She didn’t speak much during their interactions. In the past, her asking questions was what usually got him to get angry and snap at her, and right then he was clearly making an effort to be calm and nice with her. She didn’t want that to end and she was scared to see him angry again.

So she mostly kept her mouth shut while he talked to her.

And Uncle Knoller talked quite a lot. He chatted about inconsequential things plenty, Just small talk and chatter, but he also continued telling her about the kind of things he was doing for their good, to get back their happiness. How Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll and Snufkin deserved what they were getting. How people outside in the world didn’t get him and would never accept either of them and they only had each other.

He didn’t tell her everything, but he mentioned that they were getting back some of his wealth. He and Lakeworth were splitting the proceeds from Snufkin’s expeditions. He was going to get enough money to get his own place again and rebuild, somewhere private where the police would never find him.

Maybe he would be able to start another collection.

That nearly got her talking. She wanted to tell him all she had learned, how the museum was just cruel, how it just hurt, but she was scared to. She wanted to open her mouth and stop him, to convince him otherwise, but she just sat still, panicking on the inside, shivering and trying to work up courage she just didn’t have.

Days passed by. Most of the time she just sat at the foot of her bed, huddled in a blanket, staring into space and thinking or zoning out. It was long, and boring, and incredibly lonely.

A few times she was escorted around the gardens. The fresh air was nice, but the guard nearby just made her feel awkward. He was so silent and broody, didn’t want to talk about anything. 

And it was difficult not to think about her own poor plants back home, suffering without her. It just made her want to cry again, but she’d already cried so much lately. 

She had lunch with her Uncle nearly every day.

Eventually, he and Lakeworth decided to let her roam the grounds by herself. She was only locked in her room in the morning and she could go around the house after lunch, but there were plenty of rooms she wasn’t allowed to go in. 

She still didn’t see Snorkmaiden or Moomintroll anywhere, but there were a few times she saw Snufkin, only briefly with no chance at saying anything. He was always scurrying off somewhere and it was really only two or three times she spotted him.

One day she was out in the gardens by herself. She wasn’t where most of the plants were though. She was near the edge of the property, laying in the grass and staring at the clouds. 

There were a few bushes and shrubs around. A fence marked the edge of Lakeworth’s land a little ways away. Knollermaiden wasn’t allowed to cross that fence.

She wasn’t sure what she would do even if she did. What was waiting for her out there? She had nothing. Nothing but her Uncle. Her family.

Knollermaiden found herself grabbing her locket and holding it up where she could gaze at it.

Uncle wanted her to keep it on wherever she went. So she did. It was weirdly heavy though. . .

A year or two ago she probably would have loved a gift like this, but nowadays whenever she looked at it she didn’t feel anything. Just an indescribable oddness.

She stared at it for a while. Later her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

At lunch that day Uncle Knoller hinted that she might get to go home sometime soon.

She thought that she should be happy, but instead, she was apprehensive. If she went home, it was going to be just like before. Alone in a big house, no friends, no nothing. She would be fixing up her dead garden, and she wouldn’t even be going to town anymore since Lakeworth was handling food now.

She had been miserable then, and she would be miserable again. Maybe she would be better off just staying with Uncle Knoller. . .

She sighed quietly, worry sinking into her. She didn’t really want to stay either. It wasn’t much better here, but at least there were people around, even if they were just her Uncle and a bunch of servants who had no interest in talking to her.

Knollermaiden continued to drift around from one thought to the next, daydreaming some.

She ended up sitting up in the grass and staring at the fence. She just kind of zoned out at it for a while, before a silly thought came by.

What if she did hop the fence, disobey her uncle, and run far, far away. .

What if she just walked for days in one direction, going so far that the people she met hadn’t heard about her Uncle or the museum at all?

What if she just wandered around until she found people who didn’t mind her foolishness and her ignorance? 

A part of her shivered in apprehension at the thought. Surely her uncle would be furious at her for disobeying such a direct order. She shouldn’t even be thinking about this.

There was no one left out there who would accept her. They would just treat her the same way people in the town near her house did. Uncle was the only person she had left.

She hugged her knees and stared at nothing, tearing up inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's mentally tethered similarly to how Snufkin is mentally tethered. Just for different reasons, by different fears.
> 
> Joxter and Jenny will return not in the next chapter, but the one after, so just hold on, they're going to help.   
> Someone else important appears in the next chapter. I think you're going to like it!
> 
> He, he, he. . .


	10. Family Sticks Together. . .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knollermaiden has an important realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good News! Another chapter is out. Bad news, I think I'm sick. . Definitely not fun. Not very severe though, so I'll probably be able to keep updating regularly. Don't know if it's the pandemic, but my dad got tested, so when the results come in, if he has it I'm assuming I do too. 
> 
> Anyway, Thank you so much for all your lovely comments! They keep me going and make me more happy to keep writing!

Time kept passing for Knollermaiden. She had more lunches with her Uncle. She spent more hours doing nothing in her room. She wandered around the house once for a bit, but felt too awkward the whole time and didn’t do it again. She spent some more time in the garden.

There were a few more times she dreamed of just running away. She always shot it down though.

Occasionally she leaned on the fence, just staring out. The air was fresh though it was chilly, and it was nicer than staring at the wall of her room.

Of course, she was still lonely out there, but at the same time, she wasn’t as awkward. She didn’t feel dumb, surrounded by people constantly having to explain things to her and calling her stupid.

One day she was thinking again, leaning on the fence and staring at the field. There was a forest very close by and the field had a bunch of flowers growing in it.

She was very troubled again. She couldn’t stop worrying about where Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll were. She still hadn’t seen them once since she got there. 

She kept remembering being in the cage with them, seeing her uncle get mad at them, threaten to hurt them. She wondered if Moomintroll’s arm had healed yet. 

Uncle kept confirming that they deserved it, but deep down she couldn’t imagine it. As hurt as she was that Snorkmaiden had been faking their friendship, Knollermaiden still liked her. She didn’t want Snorkmaiden to hurt.

That day at lunch she had tried, she had _really_ tried to ask her Uncle where they were, but she just froze up. She couldn’t do it.

And now she was incredibly frustrated at herself. So frustrated tears were leaking out of her eyes that she angrily wiped away.

Gosh, she really was a cry baby. Just like her uncle told her ages ago, just like some of her old friends told her even longer ago. She was a stupid, ignorant, cry baby.

That thought just made her want to shrink up, huddle in on herself, and go freeze somewhere.

Knollermaiden found herself thinking back to that time ages ago, the last time she brought food to Uncle’s shack. The night he put her in the cage.

She shivered at the memory. He had been so upset. She had been terrified.

She remembered Snorkmaiden telling her to leave and call the police.

Knollermaiden had been completely ready to do it. To get her Uncle arrested. To escape.

She gazed out at the field and was startled to realize she could probably go do that now. No one was guarding her. She could run and she could escape and find police somewhere.

But how could she do it now? Now that she was sure her Uncle was the only person she had left in the world? He was the only one in the entire world who cared about her anymore.

Not only would he be completely enraged at her betrayal, but she would be completely, utterly alone again if he was in jail. And even if he got out later, he would still feel betrayed and probably hate her. 

She stared at her locket again. She even opened it and gazed at the pictures inside for a while.

What in the world was she going to do?

She got colder as a whole hour passed by around her. She would probably have to go inside soon.

She didn’t want to bother moving though. She couldn’t really. She’d started disassociating again. . .

A while later she realized there was someone walking nearby. The grass was rustling very near but on the other side of the fence.

She was a bit startled since the sound was so close.

“My, I could barely tell if you were a statue or a real person from how still you were,” an accented voice said wonderingly.

Knollermaiden found the source of the voice and the footsteps. It was a round, blonde, girl with a red and white striped shirt and a blue hat. She looked like she’d just been passing by, towards the forest.

Knollermaiden turned a bit pink in her shyness, too used to people making fun of her or being cold to her.

“Um. . No I’m real,” she said in a very small voice, mostly looking at the grass. She wondered if she should go ahead and retreat inside.

“Do you live here? I pass by this place just about every year, but I’ve never heard of old Lakeworth having guests over. I think he’s a very private person, isn’t he?” The stranger said curiously, walking a bit closer.

Knollermaiden glanced back at the mansion. “I don’t know. I barely know him. My Uncle is having me stay here though,” She got a very troubled look on her face again, getting lost in thought again.

“Oh. You don’t seem too happy though, do you?” The strange girl said, actually sounding kind of concerned. It surprised Knollermaiden. She looked up at the girl and saw a gently concerned face staring back. She didn’t know what to think. It had been too long since anyone had looked at her in a way even close to that.

She huddled her coat a bit tighter around her, not knowing what to do with herself.

“Do you _want_ to leave?” The strange girl said, tilting her head just a tad

Knollermaiden stared at her in confusion for a minute, finding her words. 

“. . . I. . I don’t know. It’s complicated,” she said quietly, staring awkwardly at the ground again.

“Hm,” the stranger hummed. The wind blew by as both of them thought about it. Then she wandered forward a bit, walking to the fence, a little ways away from where Knollermaiden was so she wasn’t too close. She leaned on the fence casually, gazing out at the forest.

“Well, you look like someone who needs someone to talk to. If not, there’s no pressure, you have every right to your own business. My name’s Too Ticky by the way,” the girl said with a smile.

Knollermaiden stared at her a bit flabbergasted for a while. For months everyone she knew had been cold to her. How was she supposed to react to someone like this after this long? 

“. . I’m Knollermaiden,” she said, voice still very quiet.

There was a bit of calm silence for a while.

“So do you want to talk about it? Do you like it here?” Too Ticky said. It was like she could read minds or something like she knew Knollermaiden wanted badly to say something, but couldn’t start on her own.

“I-. . . I don’t think I like it here really,” she said nervously, unable to look up from the grass. “It’s very lonely and I have almost nothing to do, and I’m worried about my-” she paused, catching herself. She’d been about to say, friends. Now her face was a bit red. “I’m worried about some people I know who could be hurting,” she murmured, taking a shaky deep breath. Snorkmaiden wasn’t her friend. She’d made that painfully clear over two months ago now.

Too Ticky gave her time to continue if she wanted.

“So what’s keeping you from leaving?” Too Ticky prompted a minute later, sounding a bit concerned. “Do these people you know need you?”

Knollermaiden thought for a minute. “Well, I don’t think they need _me_. .” she said, feeling very small. “My Uncle told me to stay here. I can’t just disobey him.”

“Why not you? You sound like you care about them,” Too Ticky said after waiting again so she could continue if she wanted.

“Well, they don’t care about me. She doesn’t want to be my friend. She made sure I knew it and sent me away,” Knollermaiden mumbled, emotion welling up inside her again, threatening to spill out if she wasn’t careful. “Uncle thinks they deserve to hurt because they hurt him, but I still care about her, and I’m still worried. .”

“. . . Well, that does sound awfully complicated,” Too Ticky said, rubbing her chin and looking at her with genuine concern and care again.

Knollermaiden felt weird and mushy inside at that look. It was a lot like the feeling she got when she looked at Lachlan’s letter. 

She gasped a little bit. _Lachlan’s letter_. She’d forgotten about it in all her troubles.

She stared at the woods again, feely a strange, bubbly, airy feeling. There _was_ someone out there who at least liked her baking, who she didn’t think would be cold to her like everyone else, even if he didn’t fully let her in.

“This Uncle of yours sounds like a strange character,” Too Ticky said thoughtfully, but creasing her brow a little.

“He’s the only family I have left,” Knollermaiden murmured a bit solemnly, grasping her locket, feeling a bit down again. “Family sticks together. .”

“Well, it’s nice when it does, but I’ve known plenty of people with family members who hurt them bad enough that they needed to leave,” Too Ticky said seriously. “Families can be amazing, even through all the drama and strife, but sometimes they go too far and you have to distance yourself for your own safety.”

Knollermaiden had never been told anything like that before. She stared at Too Ticky with her mouth a bit open, thinking that over. 

Uncle Knoller had been telling her for _years_ , ever since she first moved near him after her parents died, family sticks together. Family Sticks Together.

Now Too Ticky’s words were drifting through her head and tangling with the ones she’d been hearing so long. She remembered how scared she had been of her Uncle for so long, how scared she _still_ was of him snapping at her again.

It was difficult to think, the colliding thoughts swirling around, struggling for her attention. 

“He-. . . I know he cares about me,” Knollermaiden said uncertainly, as the thoughts kept battling in her head. Uncle had been repeating that more often this week, reminding her that of course he cared about her, that this was for their good.

She gripped her locket a bit tighter.

Too Ticky gazed at her with an odd look on her face. “People can love you and still continue to hurt you. What matters is if they’re trying to be better, if they admit they’ve done wrong and make an effort to change,” she murmured, staring off in the distance and seeming to get lost in a memory.

“Does your uncle know you’re hurting? If you’re sure he cares about you maybe you should try and talk to him about it. If he really loves you he’ll hear you out, and maybe you can make up and change for the better?” Too Ticky offered a reassuring smile.

Knollermaiden thought that over. Uncle Knoller knew how she felt, knew she didn’t want to be there, and that she didn’t want him hurting anyone. 

She could already imagine how he’d react if she tried to get him to let Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll and Snufkin go. Or how he’d react if she asked to leave sooner. Or really if she tried to negotiate anything right then. .

The thought made her shiver, sending terrified tingles down her spine. He would just be mad.

“. . I- I don’t think he would react very well,” she whispered, getting another concerned look from Too Ticky.

There was a thoughtful silence for a little while. 

Knollermaiden, not for the first time, went over everything she’d seen while she was in the cage, everything she’d heard from Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll about what Knoller had done, every time she’d seen Snufkin and other museum creatures suffering. She remembered Lachlan’s letter calling the museum a hell hole. She remembered how terrified Snufkin looked when she saw him in Moominvalley. She remembered the guests jeering and demanding performances. 

She remembered all the times this year her uncle made her cry, every time he yelled at her, every time he scared her. She remembered how upset she’d been when he dismissed Ann. She remembered how depressing all those months getting food for him had been.

She had been so unhappy for so long.

Because of him.

Her eyes widened and her heart beat faster in her chest as that idea connected.

He really was hurting people. He was hurting her. He was hurting the people she wanted badly to call her friends.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were still locked up somewhere. Knoller might hurt them more like he hurt Moomintroll’s arm. Snufkin still always looked nervous, or terrified, or miserable the few times she’d seen him.

And Knoller wasn’t going to stop. He was going to keep hurting people and she couldn’t convince him to stop. He wanted to make a new _museum_.

Her heart was beating even faster. Her paws were clammy.

What was she going to do? Snorkmaiden and her friends didn’t deserve this. Knollermaiden had to do _something_ to try and help.

She remembered that day at the shack again. Snorkmaiden had urged her to call the police.

Knollermaiden gasped almost silently. She felt very jittery, looking at the fence in front of her. She glanced back at the mansion. 

Feeling more anxious than she ever had in weeks, (which was really saying something) she started climbing over the fence.

“Where’s the nearest police station?” Knollermaiden said a bit urgently, though you could hear a nervous, terror in her voice as well. 

Too Ticky seemed a bit surprised at the sudden, serious request.

“I think the nearest one is in Moominvalley,” Too Ticky gestured north, towards the forest in front of them. 

Knollermaiden looked in the direction she pointed, heart sinking a little in worry. Her last visit to Moominvalley really hadn’t ended well. What if she wasn’t welcome?

It didn’t really matter, she told herself, even though it just made her more jittery. Snorkmaiden needed her to do this.

She glanced back at the mansion, nerves rising, and set off quickly towards the forest before she could chicken out.

“Do you have supplies? It’s a few days journey,” Too Ticky said worriedly, catching up with her.

That shrunk Knollermaiden’s spirit some.

“I can’t go back to get any, they’ll just stop me,” She said, wringing her paws a little in worry.

“I guess I could probably help you get there,” Too Ticky said, looking in her bag. “I was heading to Moominvalley anyway since it’s close to winter.”

Knollermaiden was overwhelmed with gratitude. She really didn’t deserve this girl. This strange, kind girl who was willing to listen.

“ _Thank_ you, seriously, thank you,” Knollermaiden said, tearing up again, hurrying to the treeline so she wouldn’t be spotted if a guard or a servant walked by.

“I’m happy to help where I can,” Too Ticky shrugged with a smile, keeping up easily. “Now, I’m not usually one to pry, but the fact that the police apparently need to get involved is worrying,” the girl said, creasing her brow in confusion and worry.

Knollermaiden’s stomach churned anxiously. There was a part of her that was ready to just out with the whole story, but another part of her was scared that Too Ticky would turn out to be like everyone else if she knew what her uncle had done and that she’d let it happen for so long.

They made it to the woods and disappeared inside.

“My Uncle might be all I have left, but he’s been hurting people, and I know he’ll keep hurting people. I can’t get him to stop so I need to find people who can,” She said a bit tearily, navigating between the trees. 

“Those people. . The ones I said I knew, the ones I’m afraid are hurting, they especially need help right now. .” 

Knollermaiden nearly slipped and fell in a bunch of leaves, but just barely managed to steady herself.

Too Ticky didn’t say much as she processed that.

They kept going, not quite running, but definitely hurrying.

Knollermaiden wondered when her Uncle would realize she was gone. Terrified shivers tingled down her spine, spreading through her body. 

He was going to be furious. He might have Lakeworth send someone after her.

They traveled quickly through the forest, anxious for the future.

……… 

Snufkin was standing against the wall, staring at nothing as he listened to Knoller and Lakeworth while they planned what he was going to steal next. 

They were standing around a table just a few paces in front of him, consulting maps, and security reports, and lists.

A few well placed windows let in a good amount of light.

He was standing very stiffly, somewhat leaning on the wall.

He was trying to ignore the feeling of the collar around his neck. In his head, he knew logically that it wasn’t too tight, that he was fine, that it was just a stupid piece of leather, but that didn’t stop it from feeling like it was slowly getting tighter every day, like it was slowly constricting around him, tightening around his neck, choking him, suffocating him,-

He inhaled sharply, trying to be as quiet as he could, trying his hardest to block it out. He didn’t want a panic attack. He just had to stay calm, focus on the moment, focus on keeping his friends safe.

“Snufkin.”

He flinched, tightening up in apprehension. 

Knoller smirked. “Go fetch us the mail.”

Snufkin’s skin bristled uncomfortably as he walked around the table, past Knoller, towards the door.

“I have a butler for that you know,” Lakeworth muttered, seeming amused.

“No, he can do it. No trouble at all,” Knoller smirked. 

Snufkin knew Knoller just enjoyed ordering him around. His latest habit was having Snufkin “fetch” things like some dog. Just another way of degrading him, as if the collar and the occasional leash wasn’t bad enough.

Snufkin just had to ignore how much it irked at him, how much he hated it. 

He walked, silent as a mouse, through the hallways of Lakeworth’s mansion, already knowing the way.

He knew he was supposed to go quickly, though the way he was moving could only barely be called power walking. He certainly wasn’t eager to be back in Knoller’s company again. .

Around him, the butler and a few of the servants looked kind of panicked. They were rushing about some, checking in rooms and hurrying out again. He didn’t catch what they were looking for though.

He didn’t care as long as it had nothing to do with him or his friends.

He got the mail and trekked back to the study.

Snufkin didn’t bother knocking. He never really did. He walked back in, body tensing as he got closer to Knoller. He held out the small stack of mail without a word, not bothering to look up at him.

Snufkin didn’t need to look to feel Knoller’s smirk pressing down on him.

“Good. Go stand over there,” Knoller pointed to the same spot by the wall after he took the mail.

Snufkin barely reacted, just walking back over to the spot by the wall he’d been growing accustomed to just like that spot in the shack he’d occupied for so long.

“How do you do it?” Lakeworth shook his head in disbelief. “He doesn’t talk back, he doesn’t disobey, he’s very skilled. If he’d just address you properly he’d be practically the perfect servant,” he tisked. “I’ve got to find me someone like that someday.”

“I think you disregard the time it takes to figure out the exact right buttons to push to train someone,” Knoller said, clearly amused. “Plus the resources needed to keep his friends, and thus, him, in check. It has worked out rather perfectly though, hasn’t it?”

Snufkin clenched his teeth, grabbing the hem of his smock with white knuckles while they talked about him.

“As far as addressing me properly. . That’s not a bad idea,” Knoller mused. 

Snufkin immediately dreaded what must be coming. He was grimacing hard.

“What do you think? Should I make him call me master?” Knoller chuckled. 

Lakeworth shrugged gracefully, looking rather amused.

“Hear that boy? From now on you are to address me as master,” Knoller turned towards Snufkin, crossing his arms and grinning.

Snufkin’s hands clenched a bit tighter. His lips were pressed firmly closed as he felt his face heating up.

There was silence for a bit.

Knoller was waiting for him to respond. He had to respond. He had to-

“What? Is that too much to handle? Are your friends going to suffer because you can’t address me properly?” Knoller laughed, thoroughly enjoying the discomfort Snufkin couldn’t keep out of his expression.

Snufkin mumbled something, skin prickling.

“Speak up boy,” Knoller commanded, jeering at him.

“Ok, _master_ ,” Snufkin muttered, face burning, staring at the ground. It’s for Moomintroll. He repeated that in his head. It’s for Moomintroll. It’s for Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll. He could handle this. It wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s for Moomintroll.

Knoller was pleased.

Snufkin barely heard whatever else he said before going back to planning.

Why did this just have to keep getting worse?

A knock was heard at the door. Knoller and Lakeworth briefly glanced at each other, slightly irked by the interruption.

“Come in,” Lakeworth called.

The butler came in, looking very apprehensive. He was usually very stoic whenever Snufkin saw him.

“Sir, no one knows where Knollermaiden is,” the butler said carefully, clearly mentally preparing for an outburst.

Knoller stared at him, not moving, an unreadable expression on his face. 

Snufkin glanced between them, the hair on his neck and back standing on end. This didn’t sound good.

“Explain?” Knoller said carefully, clearly aggravated. Lakeworth was scowling a little.

“The last person to check on her saw her strolling the gardens like she often does. They went to check on her again and she was gone. We went ahead and checked her room, then we checked all the grounds, then we searched the house, but she’s gone,” The butler said apprehensively, clearly tightening up.

A series of expressions crossed over Knoller’s face that sent chills down Snufkin’s back.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Knoller said slowly through a tight jaw. “I thought I told you guys to check on her _often_.” He seemed to be in a little bit of disbelief. “No. _No_. She was doing well. She was calm. She was getting it. She knows I’m the only one who will accept her. She’s here somewhere, you guys clearly just missed her.”

The butler was clearly annoyed but not at all surprised. “I can order another search if you wish, but I can assure you we were very thorough. We wouldn’t have interrupted if we weren’t.”

Lakeworth gave Knoller a serious look. “That much is true. .”

Knoller looked enraged for a second, but he put up a wall. He put on a face as patient as he could manage, though his anger still peaked out in the tone of his voice and the way his face contorted a little, and the way his fists clenched and unclenched.

“ _No_. Search again. Check _everywhere_. Top to bottom, comb the grounds, she would not have left. She would not have disobeyed such a direct order.”

Snufkin was trying his hardest not to shiver or tremble. Even when it wasn’t directed at him, he hated seeing Knoller like this, ready to snap at any moment, ready to lash out at anyone. 

He could feel his heart racing, thumping along in his chest, clutching his arms against his sides, shrinking down a bit to make himself a smaller target.

“Yes sir,” The butler said wisely, though clearly still annoyed. 

Knoller couldn’t plan while they waited. The air in the room just grew more tense as his anger bubbled just under his skin. It didn’t matter that he was putting up a calm facade. They could feel the heat he was giving off, warming the room better than the fireplace.

Knoller was tapping his foot impatiently. Lakeworth was looking over some of their current plan, clearly very annoyed at the distraction.

The tapping rang in Snufkin’s ears. Soon it was all he could hear aside from his fast heartbeat. His instincts were telling him he had to hide, or run, or _something_ if he wanted to survive, but he couldn’t move from his spot. If he did, Knoller would turn on him and he’d get the brunt of all the anger bubbling in him.

It just got worse the more time passed.

What felt like an eternity later, the butler returned with a bunch of guards in tow, reporting that Knollermaiden was indeed missing. She absolutely wasn’t anywhere in the house or on Lakeworth’s property at all. 

Snufkin desperately wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere and hide.

Knoller snapped _bad_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too Ticky to the rescue! 
> 
> Also, Fun Fact: Lakeworth doesn't have very good morals and is willing to do a lot of bad stuff, but he does give his servants and guards good hours and good pay just to keep them loyal to him, believing the whole "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" thing. He can still lose his temper with them and be a bit nasty sometimes, but they tolerate it for the good pay. 
> 
> Anyway, stay safe, stay healthy, and go drink some water! Hydration is very important.


	11. She's Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too Ticky and Knollermaiden make it to Moominvalley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> Good news: New chapter is out.  
> Bad news: My dad tested positive for Covid so I assume I have it too. . .  
> Good news again: We _really_ don't have it bad, it's very mild. So we're ok! Grandparents are _not_ coming down like we planned until this is all out of our system, we're being safe, and it's all pretty ok.
> 
> Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm really not that sick, so you don't need to worry
> 
> And also, I'm once again Ecstatic! There's _fanart!_ On darkysnobi's Instagram! Thank you darkysnobi!!!!
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/darkysnobi/

Knollermaiden and Too Ticky continued traveling quickly for a few days. 

There were guards sent after them which had been kind of scary, but the girls managed to hide well and they were never spotted.

Too Ticky became increasingly concerned with the situation after that, and Knollermaiden ended up confiding in her more about the nature of the situation.

“My Uncle is probably furious about me leaving,” Knollermaiden said anxiously as they carefully trekked through the forest, the lonely mountains in sight. “I can barely remember the last time I disobeyed such a firm order. .”

“Does he order you around a lot?” Too Ticky raised an eyebrow, pushing aside a branch as they walked.

“Not usually. . . But lately yes, I suppose,” Knollermaiden said.

“Why do you think he wants you back so bad?” Too Ticky asked a bit apprehensively, glancing back the way the guards had been heading.

“. . I guess to stop me from doing exactly this. He’s been avoiding police for over a year now,” Knollermaiden murmured, glancing anxiously at Too Ticky, wondering if she shouldn’t have mentioned that; if Too Ticky was going to turn into everyone else if she knew about what her Uncle had done.

“That long? What did he do?” Too Ticky asked incredulously, though she still didn’t get even a little bit cold with her, just more concerned instead.

“Well, it was in the papers a long time ago. . You might have seen it,” Knollermaiden said, staring at the mountain ahead, nerves growing.

Too Ticky waited for her to continue.

“Did you. . Did you ever hear about the creature museum?” She said timidly, her voice small.

Too Ticky’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“I did actually. I even met a few of the creatures who escaped,” Too Ticky said.

Knollermaiden’s stomach squirmed in her anxiety. Surely Too Ticky was going to get mad at her now. She was going to demand to know why she hadn’t gotten the police sooner, she was going to abandon her like everyone else.

As much as she dreaded it, Knollermaiden felt like she had to tell the truth and get it over with.

“That was my Uncle’s museum,” Knollermaiden whispered, trembling and walking a bit ahead.

Too Ticky seemed to be at a loss for words for a while.

Knollermaiden didn’t look at her, she kept her eyes on the ground or on the mountain, dreading what felt like the inevitable.

“. . . Well, I’m glad to have helped you get away then,” Too Ticky said, walking beside her again and sounding kind of flabbergasted.

Knollermaiden stared at her in some disbelief.

“You- you’re not mad?” She blubbered, emotion welling up inside her.

“Why would I be mad?” Too Ticky asked, confused.

“Well I- I never stopped him, I just sat by and watched, and I- I just thought everything was fine. Maybe I could have helped better, I could have gotten the police sooner, or _something_ ,” Knollermaiden blubbered, getting a bit pale, rubbing her arm anxiously. She certainly sounded like she could cry any minute. 

Too Ticky stared at her oddly. She seemed to be considering Knollermaiden’s words.

_Oh boy, here it comes. . ._

“I don’t know the whole story, but I’m certainly not mad at you. Even if you have made mistakes, you’re doing something right now to try and fix it,” Too Ticky said, walking with more determination.

Knollermaiden only stared at her, tears leaking out of her eyes, hugging herself as she looked in disbelief. 

Emotions were overwhelming her, spilling out her eyes. She could barely see where she was going. She was slowing down without realizing it.  
Too Ticky looked back and noticed.

Knollermaiden slowed to a stop, trying to wipe away her tears and not look like such a mess, like such a _cry baby_. She just broke down more.

“How? How do you not hate me like everyone else? Why don’t you turn me away? Everyone turns me away except Uncle Knoller, and I’m _betraying_ him,” Knollermaiden sobbed. 

Too Ticky was at a loss for words for a minute, watching Knollermaiden cry.

“Oh dear,” the blonde girl murmured to herself. Too Ticky walked over and gently took Knollermaiden’s arm, leading her along.

“I don’t know why everyone keeps turning you away, but I can’t find it in me to do that when I see someone in need,” Too Ticky said a bit distantly like she was remembering something.

Knollermaiden continued crying, overwhelmed, and reeling. That mushy feeling was back, full force, and she felt lighter than she had felt in a long time.

She wasn’t completely over her fear that her uncle was the only person she had left, she was still worried Too Ticky would think differently when she knew the _whole_ story, but in that moment, she was able to start smiling even through all her crying.

They didn’t say much else as they continued towards Moominvalley. At the rate they were going, they would arrive the next morning.

So they kept on going. Traveling relatively quickly, though not so fast that they overtaxed themselves.

Knollermaiden managed to stop crying and apologize for being such a cry baby, but Too Ticky said she shouldn’t apologize for it, that everyone needed to cry sometimes.

It nearly made her cry more. 

Gosh, she was hopeless.

… 

The next morning Knollermaiden woke up in the small camp they had made halfway up the mountain.

She gazed over the side at the view, anxiety returning full force. They were going to arrive later that morning. How were they going to react to her?

The two of them packed up camp quickly and started down the path.

“I think it might be a good idea to stop at Moominhouse on the way to the station,” Too Ticky said. “I’m running really low on travel food and Moominmamma is usually happy to offer some.”

“Moominhouse?” Knollermaiden murmured, remembering Moomintroll. Her nerves were rising. 

Moomintroll was Snorkmaiden’s friend, so he probably lived in Moominvalley near her, so this Moominhouse was probably where he lived. His Mom probably deserved to know where he’d been all this time. Still, Knollermaiden dreaded how his family might react to her. . .

“Ok,” she whispered, a bit pale. 

If Too Ticky picked up on her nervousness, she didn’t comment on it.

They kept going.

……… 

Joxter had arrived at Moominvalley a few days ago, to find Moominmamma and Moominpappa reeling and very distressed.

It had been unnerving seeing them like that.

Apparently, Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, and Snufkin had all been completely missing for almost a _month_ now, and Little My found a bunch of Snufkin’s things haphazardly scattered around in a random spot in the forest.

Apparently, there was a note with Snufkin’s handwriting found with his scattered things addressed to Joxter, asking simply if he could come and join him for his winter travels.

Practically everyone in the valley had been in a tizzy for weeks now, searching up and down and everywhere for the missing kids.

Joxter was completely frazzled about the news so Snufkin’s friends had to be the ones to inform Moominmamma and Moominpappa what they’d seen in the city.

Joxter had paced the living room, gnashing his teeth in worry, clutching the yellow scarf tightly in one paw and Snufkin’s letter in the other while Jenny explained.

Moominmamma, Moominpappa, and Little My were all baffled at the tale.

Little My especially was outraged at the news that Snufkin had been wearing a collar.

“I’m not making it up, Joxter’s the one who saw it,” Jenny said, very annoyed at Little My for calling her a liar.

“But that’s impossible,” Little My yelled angrily, stomping her foot on the coffee table she’d been standing on. “ _No one_ could convince Snufkin to wear something like that, that’s outrageous,” she growled, pulling on her hair a little, clearly on her last nerve after weeks of searching for her brother.

Jenny just glared annoyedly, gesturing her head at Joxter. Little My turned on him.

“Joxter, come _on_ ,” She yelled exasperatedly.

Joxter clutched Snufkin’s scarf tighter.

“I know what I saw,” He said, clenching his teeth and breathing sharply through his nose. “I don’t get it either. We _have_ to find him.”

“Well, thank you captain obvious,” Little My growled, just dripping with sarcasm.

“My, please. We’re all very _frazzled_ after searching this long, but we need to keep our heads,” Moominmamma said firmly, brows creased as she poured tea. 

Even in the midst of all the strife and worry for her son, she still made an effort to be hospitable and calm. Though, the closer Joxter looked, the more he could see how distressed she was. How could a mother _not_ be terrified for a son that had been missing for so long now?

“Have you got a guess as to who it was?” Jenny asked, looking around at everyone, brows creased like she had a few guesses of her own.

Everyone glanced around at each other.

“It’s got to be Knoller, right? He still hasn’t been caught yet, and he _did_ swear revenge before he escaped. Does your family have any other enemies who would bother kidnapping them?” Jenny asked.

They all looked among themselves again, their tense silence all the confirmation Jenny needed.

She glared at nothing, gears turning in her head.

“If it is him, he is going to _pay_ ,” Little My grumbled menacingly, punching her hand.

“Whether it’s him or some rando, anyone who could put Snufkin in a collar and convince him to _keep_ it on is clearly someone who’s going to pay either way,” Joxter growled, tail thrashing about.

Joxter, Jenny, and Quinn joined the search. 

It was a disappointment to everyone that Joxter couldn’t catch Snufkin’s scent enough to track him. Sure his scent was around the valley since he spent so much time there, but every time it led nowhere.

Time passed and they occasionally left the valley in their search, but they had no luck.

……… 

Jenny was in the kitchen a few days later helping Moominmamma prepare lunch while everyone else was out searching.

Quinn was back a little early though, currently crouching in front of the oven to warm himself.

Jenny glanced at him sometimes while she chopped veggies. Quinn was probably the most relaxed person in the valley right then. He barely ever let anything get to him or worry him, and he didn’t get attached to many people.

Right then he was purring in the warmth, blinking lazily.

A little bit later Moominmamma gently shooed him out of the way of the oven so she could take out the acorn squash that was inside.

Moominmamma had been very quiet the whole time, not at all like the last time Jenny remembered helping her in the kitchen. 

Back then she’d been full of warmth, giving helpful advice and bustling around. Now she was a bit stiffer, and mostly silent, her head in the clouds.

“Do you have a bowl or anything to put these in?” Jenny asked, finishing with the vegetables.

Moominmamma had been grabbing a bowl from the cabinet to scoop the squash into. She glanced back at the cutting board in front of Jenny and grabbed another bowl.

“Hear you are, dear,” Moominmamma said, handing her the bowl as she passed by.

“Thanks,” Jenny said somewhat quietly, scooping the veggies into it.

Moominmamma looked like she was getting lost in thought again as she took a spoon and started scooping the squash into her bowl.

Jenny started setting the table afterward. Moominmamma glanced at the calendar that was pinned to the wall.

She stopped what she was doing, staring at it sadly.

Jenny noticed, pausing from where she was standing behind the table putting out plates.

Moominmamma stood there a minute more, turning back towards the squash. Jenny could only see her back.

“It’s only a little under a month till we need to hibernate,” Moominmamma said quietly, a minute later. She stopped what she was doing again, grabbing the counter and leaning on it.

Jenny didn’t know what to do. Everything was too silent.

“I don’t know how we could manage if we don’t find them before then,” Moominmamma murmured, voice a little bit gravely. “They’ll be so cold. . Cold and far away from their safe, warm beds, and we can barely sleep as it is.”

Jenny stared at the ground. 

“We won’t stop until they’re all safe at home,” Jenny said, her voice rather low, trying to sound as sure as she could.

The kitchen was silent for a long time. 

They slowly got back to work, finishing up with the food. Everyone was supposed to get back right around then, but it seemed most of them would be late.

Little My was next to arrive, looking incredibly frustrated as usual.

They all sat on the porch steps, waiting for everyone else to get back.

Quinn crawled over next to Jenny, settling in beside her. Moominmamma was sitting on her other side and Little My was pacing around impatiently, probably very hungry.

Jenny absently scratched behind Quinn’s ears and he purred again. 

She was currently the only one he allowed to do that. They had become pretty good friends since the museum. 

He was a bit more of a softy than he let on. He was always acting lazy and indifferent to things, but she knew he was really a snarky, energetic, puffball on the inside.

He had acted pretty indifferent when Marelyn gave him his scarf, but Jenny could see he secretly loved it and wore it absolutely everywhere.

Jenny snapped out of her thoughts as Moominmamma stirred beside her. Jenny looked up and saw someone coming over the bridge.

It wasn’t Moominpappa or Joxter or someone she knew though. There was a blonde girl with a red and white striped shirt.

“Too Ticky?” Little My said confusedly, walking quickly down the porch steps in between them.

Someone else came up beside and a little behind the blonde girl that Little My had called Too Ticky. Someone Jenny felt she must have seen somewhere.

In an instant, Quinn was on his feet, hissing a tiny bit in alarm, backing up behind Jenny and peeking around at the new arrivals.

Little My had gasped while Moominmamma was standing up.

“ _What_ in the- What are _you_ doing here?” Little My yelled, hunching up hostilely, glaring at the girl beside Too Ticky.

Said girl was clearly a Knoller, looking very similar to a hemulen and having somewhat long hair like one, but with a slightly smaller, slightly flatter nose. 

Knollermaiden.

Jenny gasped, standing up quickly, remembering when she saw this girl at the museum, gazing at her through the glass with a bunch of Knoller’s other guests. Quinn shuffled a bit behind her, repositioning himself better and hiding between her legs, just barely peeking out.

The Knollermaiden looked a little frightened and anxious at Little My’s hostility. Too Ticky glanced confusedly between Little My and Knollermaiden.

“You know each other?” Too Ticky asked. Knollermaiden shook her head, looking a bit baffled and very anxious.

Little My opened her mouth to yell something else, but Moominmamma was next to speak.

“Too Ticky, it’s always nice to see you,” Moominmamma said, managing to sound at least a little cheerful. “Who’s this friend of yours?”

Too Ticky was going to answer, but Little My spoke up.

“She can’t be a friend, Moominmamma. That’s _Knollermaiden_ ,” Little My said angrily, postured and ready to bite if Knollermaiden got too much closer.

Knollermaiden seemed rather frozen in place, glancing with wide fearful eyes around at everyone on the porch. Her eyes met Quinn’s and they both gaped at each other. Jenny could almost feel how tense Quinn was without even looking at him.

Quinn had been stuck in the museum for over a year. 

When Jenny did glance down at him, she saw how wide his eyes were, how scared he actually was. He took a very low, cautious step backward.

A tense second later, he darted quietly back inside.

Jenny glared at Knollermaiden. 

“She can be a friend. She’s come to help,” Too Ticky said, looking rather annoyed at Little My. Too Ticky took Knollermaiden’s hand and led her over closer to the porch. Knollermaiden still looked rather anxious and frozen up, shying away from Little My.

Little My stared at them with her mouth hanging open, brows still creased angrily.

“ _Help?_ You think we can trust _Her_ help?! Too Ticky, do you even know what she’s done? What she’s been in on for years?” Little My yelled, almost enraged.

Too Ticky glanced between Knollermaiden and Little My with her brows creased. Knollermaiden had shrunk in on herself some, staring at the ground, trembling a little and looking rather emotional.

“I don’t know much, but I’ve been traveling with her for a few days now and I know whatever she did she feels awful about it,” Too Ticky said firmly.

“Seriously?” Little My yelled. “You don’t even know the half of it. She could be acting, she could have fooled you-”

“Moominmamma,” Too Ticky turned towards the older Moomin. “You never turn away lost or hurt souls. She could certainly use another kind face right now. Whatever she’s done, she’s ready to make up for it,” Too Ticky nudged Knollermaiden a little closer towards Moominmamma.

Jenny had walked forward a bit so she could see everyone better. Moominmamma was glancing between Too Ticky and Little My, both of whom were staring back expectantly. Moominmamma didn’t look like she knew what to do.

Moominmamma then looked at Knollermaiden, fully taking her in. 

Knollermaiden looked rather terrified, unable to look anyone in the eye, paws shaking, arms close to her chest, fur a bit messy and matted around her cheeks like she cried a lot.

Jenny still looked at her rather warily. This girl had been with Knoller. Quinn was still scared of her. No way was Jenny letting her guard down.

Moominmamma looked at Too Ticky again, searching her gaze. Moominmamma's shoulders dropped a bit and Too Ticky smiled.

“I trust you Too Ticky. Come in dear, let’s get you inside and warmed up,” Moominmamma gently put her arm around Knollermaiden’s shoulder and started leading her up the stairs of the porch.

Knollermaiden looked very emotional and grateful even if she was still very frightened. She held on to Too Ticky on her other side while Little My stared at them all in shock.

Little My started to protest rather vehemently, but Moominmamma shot her a look that got her to stop.

Jenny’s brows were creased, and she was biting her lip, unsure of what to do. She ended up following them inside, ready to keep an eye on Knollermaiden and keep her away from Quinn. This whole thing felt very weird. . .

Little My was still very angry, glaring daggers at Knollermaiden when they were inside.

Moominmamma had directed Knollermaiden to the couch and Knollermaiden was sitting there, shoulders rather tense, arms close, glancing around at everyone in the room.

Too Ticky had elected to stand. Jenny was leaning against the stair railing, her arms crossed. Little My was standing on the coffee table. 

Moominmamma came back into the room, holding two cups of hot tea which she handed to Too Ticky and Knollermaiden.

Knollermaiden stared somewhat blankly at her cup. It was shaking a little in her paws, so she rested it against her knee.

Moominmamma settled on the couch near Knollermaiden.

“So Too Ticky, have you heard about Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, and Snufkin?” Moominmamma said, having to carefully hold her voice steady.

Too Ticky saw how upset she really was and frowned, concerned.

“No. What’s happened?”

Little My scoffed.

“You mean you came all this way with her and she didn’t even tell you?” the little mymble growled. “I told you she can’t be trusted-”

“My,” Moominmamma said firmly, turning towards Little My. Little My grumbled, pacing around and clenching and unclenching her fists.

Knollermaiden had shrunk in on herself even more, looking rather ashamed and nervous.

No one else seemed to have noticed yet.

Jenny narrowed her eyes a little.

“They’re missing,” Jenny said bluntly. Too Ticky looked up at her, incredulous but clearly concerned.

“And we’re certain _Her_ uncle’s the one who took them,” Little My said furiously, pointing at Knollermaiden who only looked more terrified.

“Little My,” Moominmamma warned again, in a firm, motherly voice.

“Missing?” Too Ticky said, brows creased, baffled. “Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden? _And_ Snufkin?”

Moominmamma nodded sadly, but then so did Knollermaiden. Too Ticky gaped at her.

“Are _they_ the ones you said you were worried about? The ones you were afraid for, who need help?” Too Ticky asked Knollermaiden incredulously.

Little My and Jenny both stared with their mouths open a little bit as Knollermaiden nodded again, still looking terrified.

Too Ticky was flabbergasted. “Oh gosh,” she murmured, almost laughing just in surprise and bafflement, though it was clear she was still very concerned. “You could have told me it was people I knew.”

“. . . I had no idea you knew them,” Knollermaiden whispered, still rather fearfully glancing up at Too Ticky.

“I suppose not,” Too Ticky said, clearly still wrapping her head around it.

“So do you know where they are?” Jenny asked, brows still creased, but unfolding her arms and standing up straighter.

“Sort of,” Knollermaiden murmured, earning a few gasps. 

“Well, where are they?” Little My almost yelled frantically, though she still didn’t seem quite ready to trust her.

Everyone was staring intensely at Knollermaiden. She looked like she was quickly getting overwhelmed.

“My Uncle has them somewhere in Lakeworth’s mansion. We were separated when we got there though, and I haven’t seen them since except for Snufkin, but I barely saw him a few seconds,” Knollermaiden said, her voice rather small.

Everyone processed that for a minute. 

“You were separated?” Jenny said, creasing her brow, trying to puzzle it all out.

Knollermaiden nodded. “Before then we were staying in a shack in the woods. But Uncle moved us all to Lakeworth’s.”

Everyone ended up glancing around at each other. The air was very tense.

“Were they ok?” Moominmamma finally spoke up, sounding extremely serious and tense. “Are my children ok?”

Knollermaiden stared back at her, very overwhelmed. Jenny could almost see the words slowly forming in her head.

“. . . They seemed ok. Mostly ok. Snufkin always looked very anxious. Snorkmaiden was always tense, but very attentive. Moomintroll. . Had bandages on his arm when I got there, but he didn’t seem to mind,” Knollermaiden said that last part, especially shakily.

Everyone was rather silent for a minute. Moominmamma looked rather choked up. When Knollermaiden saw that, she looked like she was about to cry herself. She looked terribly ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” Knollermaiden’s voice cracked as she choked back a sob. “I should have come sooner, I _tried_ to leave and get help when I saw them,-” she was really trembling now, sobbing uncontrollably and taking those short, strangly breaths. “But he _wouldn’t_ let me leave, and he was _scary_ , and angry, and he wanted to hurt them-, but I should have tried sooner, I should have done _something_ , I-” She really broke down, barely able to speak through her crying and looking _so_ ashamed, huddling in on herself. “I- I’ve just been _stupid_. I should have tried sooner,-”

Moominmamma reached over and wrapped her in a tight hug, startling her, though she was still sobbing.

“I forgive you. You’re doing your best right now, and you’ve given me news of my children,” Moominmamma murmured through her own tears, rubbing her back softly.

Knollermaiden was frozen for a while before she melted into the hug, breaking down and sobbing even more, letting it all out.

They stayed like that for quite a while. Knollermaiden murmured sorry’s over and over again and Moominmamma continued to say it was ok and she was forgiven.

Just watching it, Jenny had to turn around and press her hands over her nose and mouth.

Little My even seemed rather stunned into silence. 

Knollermaiden had to cry for such a long time, like she’d been holding it all in for far too long. Moominmamma continued to try and comfort her.

Ages later, everyone managed to start calming down. Moominmamma was able to say something that got Knollermaiden to smile.

A bit later Knollermaiden told them the whole story of what she’d seen and what happened to her.

She started back with how her uncle had made her bring him food every month, and how often he got mad at her when she visited and asked questions.

Then she touched on her last visit to Moominvalley when Snorkmaiden turned her away. She didn’t want to say much about it though, she was clearly still very upset about it.

She went on about her realizations of what the museum had actually been like all those years and how horrified she’d been that her uncle could have been hurting creatures the entire time.

Then everyone hushed up a bit as she told them about the last time she had to bring food to her uncle and she had found Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden in a cage.

She had tried to run away and call the police when Snorkmaiden told her to, but Knoller had locked her in the cage as well, stopping her.

Everyone was especially shocked to hear that.

Jenny glanced up at some point and noticed Quinn crouched at the top of the stairs, staring intently at the wall, clearly listening in with an unreadable expression on his face.

He was very tense. Incredibly still, sitting up there. He was facing a direction where Jenny couldn’t quite see the expression on his face. And he wasn’t wearing his scarf. .

Jenny was still worried about him. She didn’t think Knollermaiden could have faked her emotions, but Quinn still had terrible memories of over a _year_ of being stuck in mostly one room, being underfed, and being stared and gawked at by strangers multiple times a week. 

Even if Knollermaiden was completely genuine about wanting to help, Jenny wouldn’t blame Quinn for still being upset.

Knollermaiden continued her story, still rather emotional and very shaken up about remembering and retelling what happened.

She told them about the days she spent with Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden. The conversations they had when her uncle was away.

Jenny was particularly attentive when Knollermaiden told them about the night Snufkin got back with the vase. 

The same vase she’d seen him looking at in the museum. The same one that had been stolen.

So her hunches had been right.

They were all rather horrified at Knollermaiden’s descriptions of how her uncle treated Snufkin. How Moomintroll said that Knoller had been training Snufkin by threatening to hurt Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden.

They were all aghast, but Little My especially took it the worst. She was rather frozen, unmoving, a terrible expression on her face. 

Not too long later she bolted outside and slammed the door behind her. 

Moominmamma started to go after her, but Too Ticky said that she’d take care of it and went instead. 

A while later Moominpappa and Joxter returned.

Joxter had a _very_ negative first reaction to seeing Knollermaiden and both had to be calmed down afterward.

Eventually, everyone settled down and Moominmamma said that lunch was getting cold and that Knollermaiden could re-tell her story to them after they ate.

Too Ticky and Little My returned as well. Little My was very quiet and sullen, barely saying a word as she got up to the table. Her eyes were just a tiny bit red.

Jenny tried to convince Quinn to come down and eat, but he was totally silent and unmoving.

He barely reacted to her at all, like he was pretending not to hear her, or pretending not to understand.

Jenny knew that when he had been in the museum he acted more animalistic, like an unintelligent smaller beast, more like a squirrel or a bird. He’d done it to keep Knoller from paying too much attention to him or try to train him. He did it to keep people from bothering him. He did it to survive.

He had reverted back to that only a few times over their travels, always in self-defense at perceived threats that reminded him too much of anyone from the museum.

It made Jenny very distressed seeing her friend like this, but she knew she shouldn’t push it.

So she just made a plate for him and left it at the top of the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, now it's time for them to make a plan and get out there. 
> 
> I really liked figuring out the big emotional scene, and I really loved the idea of Moominmamma letting her motherly instincts, and her trust in Too Ticky's judgment, take over when it came to dealing with Knollermaiden.
> 
> Knollermaiden really needs more people like Moominmamma in her life.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	12. Back to the Lion's Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knollermaiden re-tells her story and they figure out what they're gonna do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is more fan art!!!!!!!!!!! And it's beautiful!!!!!!! Thank you _frogs_are_cool_!!!!!
> 
> Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJlhFQEBxzL/
> 
> Also, I made this cool thing for a bunch of my Rare Specimen OCs with a bunch of my own art in it if you want to check it out: 
> 
> https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hJwUyEThVkr0G2CQeYHOzig2W1omBF31t54jcPs_hKM/edit?usp=sharing 
> 
> Thank you for reading my story and commenting and leaving kudos, you're all the best!! :D
> 
> Now onto the chapter. . .

Lunch was somewhat awkward and tense. Joxter was glaring incredulously at Knollermaiden for much of it. He had seen her a few times when he had staked out Knoller’s mansion the year before. He associated her too much with Knoller, and Snufkin’s kidnapping.

Knollermaiden was clearly scared of the older Mumrik. She was jumpy and nervous under his intense gaze.

Moominmamma tried to calm the air. 

Later they had finished eating and Knollermaiden restarted her story. Moominpappa listened rather attentively, tensed in his chair and thinking over it profusely. Joxter was twitchy and impatient and still didn’t trust her for quite a while.

Knollermaiden was able to get to the part where they moved from the shack this time, actually finishing the story with how the last week or so, maybe more, she was stuck in Lakeworth’s house, not knowing where they were keeping Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden and only seeing Snufkin a few times for a second or two.

“Do you think you would be able to look around and find them if you went back?” Moominpappa asked, rubbing his chin and gazing at her rather seriously.

Knollermaiden paused, not expecting a question like that. She had to think for a bit, imagining her uncle’s reaction if she went back. She trembled a little, grimacing.

“I know he’ll be very mad at me for leaving,” she murmured, grimacing. “But I suppose it’s something I can try. . .”

“Are you sure about this?” Moominmamma said concernedly. “That feels rather dangerous. Knoller has already mistreated her enough, and Joxter was able to sneak into the last house fine.”

Joxter shrugged non-committedly, staring at nothing. He was holding on to something in his pocket that Knollermaiden couldn’t quite see. At least he wasn’t quite as scary now as when she’d first seen him. .

“Sure he snuck in fine, but he never managed to find them. It took Snorkmaiden going undercover to actually find them,” Moominpappa said, brow creased in thought. Joxter gave him a very annoyed glare.

“Maybe we should do both,” Little My spoke up, jumping back onto the coffee table like she did a lot nowadays. She put her hands on her hips. “She can go undercover and Joxter and I can sneak in. Whoever finds them all first can tell everyone else.”

Knollermaiden absolutely dreaded the idea of going back to face Knoller’s wrath, but she didn’t speak up. As terrified as she was, she wanted to be able to help. She needed to do something after being so complacent for so long. 

“That sounds like a good idea to me. The more eyes we have, the sooner we’ll find them, and the sooner we can put this whole mess behind us,” Moominpappa said.

“Aren’t we getting the police involved too? We really need to talk to them, they could have their own protocols for this,” Moominmamma said, putting her hands on her hips. “We don’t necessarily need to send more people into danger.” 

“It took days for the inspector to get enough manpower to raid Knoller’s mansion, and it will likely take just as long now,” Moominpappa said.

“No way I’m waiting that long when I know where he is,” Joxter grumbled. “I’m finding him as soon as possible.”

“We’re getting _all_ of them out as soon as possible. Who knows what could happen if we wait longer?” Moominpappa stood up to take his wife’s paw comfortingly. He did seem rather distressed, and even looked almost choked up. “Who knows if he’ll hurt them again while we wait?”

Moominmamma looked like she was about ready to cry. She and Moominpappa hugged each other very tight.

“I don’t want them getting hurt either. I don’t want to leave them in his hands any longer than necessary, but I just don’t like the idea of sending more people into the lion's den,” Moominmamma said in a somewhat gravelly voice.

“I know it’s not ideal, but I think it’s the best chance we have. We’ll be extra careful, I promise,” Moominpappa said, sounding just as emotional and worn out.

Moominmamma wiped her face with her paw, hardening her gaze some. “Well, you’re not deciding for her. If she doesn’t feel safe going back, she’s going to stay right here with me until this is over.”

Moominpappa took a deep breath, nodding a bit and giving Moominmamma a look that said, _ok that’s fair._

Moominmamma relaxed just a little bit. She gave him another tight hug and then went and sat next to Knollermaiden on the couch.

“I mean it. If you don’t want to go, you’re not going,” Moominmamma said, looking very serious. Then she sighed. “But I can’t force you to stay either. Lord knows you’d just sneak out if you were determined. What do you think?”

The room was very quiet as Knollermaiden took that in. It warmed her heart, making her feel all gushy inside how Moominmamma fought for her. She couldn’t remember _anyone_ fighting for her like that. It was confusing, and baffling, and scary, but so warm, and. . . . Caring.

It made her want to cry again, but she fought it down, frustrated with herself at how easy it was to get so emotional. .

Knollermaiden then realized the room was silent, waiting for her reply. It brought her back into the moment all too suddenly and she gazed back at Moominmamma, feeling the weight of the silence pressing down on her.

“. . . I think. . . I want to help. I _need_ to help,” Knollermaiden said quietly. “And no one else would have the chance to get close to my Uncle like I do. Not when he’s like this. I can try to help find them.”

Moominmamma sighed. There was more silence for a bit. Moominpappa looked sort of grateful. Joxter was staring with slightly narrowed eyes at Knollermaiden, but he wasn’t so tense.

Moominmamma wrapped Knollermaiden in another hug, taking a deep breath. Knollermaiden returned it, gushy feeling increasing. Moominmamma let go to look at her properly again.

“You be extra careful in there. If he looks like he’s going to hurt you _at all_ , you leave and get out of there immediately,” Moominmamma said, gaze hard and motherly. 

Knollermaiden nodded airily. She felt like she might float right off the couch.

……… 

Jenny had been helping fine-tune the plan. It was quite a while later now though, and she was going upstairs to talk to Quinn.

She had a plate of raw fish with her to give him for dinner.

She found him sitting in front of the window sill in the guest room they had been using.

He glanced at her, but then stared back outside.

Jenny sighed a little bit, walking over and setting the plate on a table, then walking over to the bench in front of the window and sitting next to him.

“So we have a plan ready now. We’re leaving tomorrow,” Jenny started carefully.

Quinn’s tail was moving around a bit absently, twitching just a tiny bit. He made no sound to indicate he heard her at all.

“She’s coming too,” Jenny said somewhat quietly, gazing out the window and resting her cheek on her hand, leaning her elbow on the window sill.

Quinn’s tail was just a tiny bit more twitchy.

There was a bit of silence as Jenny tried to string the right words together in her head.

She turned back towards him. “I don’t think she’s making this up. I think she really is trying to help. But-. . . .”

Jenny swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling a pit in her stomach. “. . I know she still hurt you. I know you suffered far more than I did back in the museum. If you don’t want to be around her, if you don’t want to come, I get it. You can stay here, or you can go somewhere else, it’s all up to you.”

There was more silence for a while. They both stared out the window again, neither saying a word.

Jenny watched the wind blow by a few dead leaves. 

Quinn barely stirred.

Jenny wondered what was going on in his head. She hated to think he could be suffering inside. It made her sad and distressed to think about.

She shifted just a tad in her seat, breathing steadily. 

Minutes ticked past.

Then a long, long time later, Quinn finally spoke.

“I’m not ready to give up helping,” he said rather quietly, so quiet that if anyone was at the door, they certainly wouldn’t hear him.

Jenny looked at him wonderingly.

“I don’t really want to go back to Knoller. I don’t want to ever have to see him again,” Quinn whispered, brows creased. He circled around and laid on his stomach on the bench. “But I would still be stuck in a case if Moomintroll, and Snorkmaiden, and everyone else hadn’t helped us all escape.”

Jenny didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure she should say anything. She turned so she could see him better, leaning her back against the window.

“I wouldn’t have helped search this long if I didn’t know we would see Knoller eventually. I still don’t want to see him, but I’m not just going to let him get away with hurting more creatures. Especially not the ones who saved me. I owe it to them at least,” Quinn said, staring into the distance at nothing.

Jenny was quiet, taking that in. 

She didn’t need to remind him of the danger, or how scary it would be.

“I’m glad you’re coming,” Jenny whispered. “We’ll stick together and make sure nothing happens.”

Quinn scooted a little closer to her, resting his head on his paws.

Jenny stroked his feathers.

They sat together for a while.

They both knew this would probably be the most peaceful evening they’d experience in a while. After this, it would all be stressful business. 

The calm before the storm.

So they took in as much calm as they could.

……… 

Knollermaiden stared at the mansion in front of her. She was shivering.

They had traveled the few days back and everyone else was hiding nearby. Joxter and Little My had already left to sneak inside. Jenny and Quinn were sneaking about somewhere as well. Moominpappa was setting up the camp, and Moominmamma and Too Ticky were with the inspector far, far away, getting more officers somewhere.

Now was the time Knollermaiden was supposed to go back inside, probably apologise to her uncle, and start looking around inconspicuously to find Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll. 

She wasn't sure she would have the chance to at first. What if Uncle locked her in her room for a while for running away?

She was prepared for that possibility, and a few others as well.

She was still terrified, but she was also determined. She had a way to help. She wasn’t just sitting around letting her Uncle hurt people. She was going to find her frie-. . . She was going to find the people she cared about and help get them to safety.

Dread still squirmed around in her gut as her legs slowly brought her forward, heart pounding, towards the front gate of the grounds.

It kind of looked like there were more people around since she’d left. More people around the fence. More guards. . .

They had spotted her and were walking forward.

“I’m back,” she says despondently, walking up to meet them. “I know I’m probably in trouble. I know I need to see my uncle, but I’m back. .”

The guards look amongst themselves. It looked like they weren’t expecting this. They were surrounding her and still looked poised and ready to get rough if needed. It just made her more nervous.

They were rather close. 

“You shouldn’t have left,” one of them says a bit coldly.

“I know,” Knollermaiden murmured, nodding a little. “Are we going inside?”

One of them glanced back at the house. Someone was ordered to go run ahead and tell Knoller and Lakeworth that she had returned.

“Come on then,” one of them muttered almost boredly, and Knollermaiden shuffled along behind them, heart pounding, pulse racing as they went through the front gate and closed it tight behind them.

She made sure not to glance back no matter how much she wanted to. She kept walking among the circle of guards, eyes on the path or on the house.

Some of the guards and some of the servants they passed were murmuring to themselves, staring at her. 

She didn’t look at them.

In the house, they sent only two guards with her to escort her wherever they were going. The head butler joined them as well, giving her a very annoyed look. 

And so they navigated the hallways, taking her off to her fate.

……… 

The last several days had been worse than ever for Snufkin. 

Knoller had been extremely irritable and took out his anger for his niece running away on everyone around him. And Snufkin had to be around him a _lot_.

Sometimes it was almost like Knoller was _trying_ to get Snufkin to mess up, like he was trying to get an excuse to punish him and be more mad.

It was more terrifying and stressful than ever.

Snufkin had a few bruises on his wrists and arm from times Knoller had grabbed him too roughly. He had a welt on the back of his head from one time when Knoller slammed him against the wall in a fit of rage.

Snufkin had dodged a few objects that had been thrown at him.

Snufkin was barely holding himself together by a thread, trying to keep Knoller just happy enough to leave Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden alone. And there were a few terrifyingly, _very_ close calls.

At that moment, Snufkin was sitting by another wall, trying to look as small and unnoticeable as possible.

Knoller was a little ways in front of him, sitting at a desk with his back towards him, scribbling something down on paper.

Snufkin had no clue what it was he’d been working on for the past two hours. All he knew was he wasn’t ordering him around, wasn’t terrifying him, wasn’t hurting him.

Snufkin was leashed to the wall.

His collar was tilted uncomfortably, tied with a rope to a ring far above his head. He didn’t dare touch it, or adjust it, or anything.

Snufkin knew Knoller knew it wasn’t necessary. It was even more of a bother actually, in case Knoller wanted Snufkin to go and get something since he would have to get up and untie him.

It didn’t matter though. It was just another intentional reminder to Snufkin that he belonged to someone. That he was nothing more than a pet to fetch things and be ordered around.

And _god_ did he hate it, but right then he was too terrified to be preoccupied with it, too busy mentally preparing for the calm to end, for Knoller to snap again. To order him around. To hurt him maybe.

Nowadays even if Snufkin wasn’t fully trembling, his paws were shaking. They never stopped shaking. Maybe it was worsened by the cold, but even when Snufkin was allowed to sit near a fire they still shook no matter what he did.

Someone knocked on the door somewhat urgently, making Snufkin jump a little.

Knoller looked back annoyedly. He got to his feet, scowling, and walked over to the door.

Snufkin’s heart rate was accelerating. Of course, it was, Knoller was scowling. That was never a good sign.

Knoller opened the door quick enough that Snufkin saw the messenger on the other side flinch.

“What is it?” Knoller snapped.

“Sir, it’s your niece,” The messenger said, sounding a bit baffled.

Knoller looked like he hadn’t been expecting that. “You found her?”

“No, she just came back on her own. Walked right up to the gate,” The messenger said.

It was difficult to see Knoller’s face from the angle Snufkin was at. Knoller wasn’t saying anything yet. His body was tense.

The messenger was glancing around awkwardly.

Snufkin heard footsteps somewhere nearby, getting slowly closer.

“Oh look, they’ve arrived,” The messenger said a bit awkwardly, backing away and staring down the hall. “I’ll just. . Be off then.”

The messenger hurried off somewhere else.

For a minute more, it was just Snufkin and Knoller alone again, very tense. 

Not too long later the butler arrived, with two guards and Knollermaiden in tow.

Knollermaiden was staring dully at the ground.

Everything just grew more tense. Everyone was rather still. No one said a word.

After what might have been a whole minute of no one doing absolutely anything, the butler quietly nudged Knollermaiden in the door and promptly left.

Knoller stepped back to let it happen and the door was closed behind his niece.

There was another tense minute of silence.

“. . . I know I’m in trouble,” Knollermaiden finally said, rather quietly and dully.

“You _Think?_ ” Knoller hissed, putting his hands on his hips. Knollermaiden shuddered.

“I know-”

“You disobeyed me,” Knoller interrupted, raising his voice angrily. “You disobeyed a _very_ clear order. I trusted you to listen to me and this is what I get? What in the _world_ were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking something stupid,” Knollermaiden looked up at him sadly. He actually paused as she went on. “I was thinking something silly and stupid. I’m sorry Uncle. I really am. And you. . . You were right. About everything,” she murmured gloomily.

He raised an eyebrow at her, hands still on his hips, but it seemed she’d said the right thing. 

“About what exactly?” He said, clearly still angry.

“. . You’re all I have left,” Knollermaiden murmured. “No one else wants me around. No one else cares about me.” She was grimacing.

Snufkin stared at her. He didn’t know what to think. What had she found out there that made her this sullen? What had happened that made her this sure that this mad man of an uncle was worth coming back to?

Snufkin remembered that day back in the shack. He narrowed his eyes a little. What kind of weird training had Knoller been putting in _her_ head?

He realized Knollermaiden was staring back at him. She looked concerned, her gaze traveling up the rope attaching him to the wall. Before Snufkin could react to her gaze, she’d turned away, back to her Uncle before said Uncle could notice.

Knoller was giving her a guarded look. He seemed to be considering her words.

Finally, he spoke again.

“Very well. Maybe you’ve learned something from this, but that doesn’t mean you’re just getting away with it with no discipline,” Knoller said sternly, still glaring a little.

She shrunk a little, nodding demurely. 

“You know I was worried about you,” Knoller finally relaxed a little, grabbing both of her shoulders. She nodded, showing no resistance.

Snufkin narrowed his eyes tiredly.

“You need to remember I’m doing this for your own good,” Knoller said, brushing a bit of her hair behind her shoulder.

“I know,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. . .”

A bit later he sent her to her room. She was to be locked in for two days, all of her privileges taken away to be slowly earned back over time.

Snufkin sincerely hoped this would be the end of Knoller’s anger spikes, that he might actually have a small chance of sleeping through the night now, that Knoller wouldn’t be looking for ways to get him to mess up anymore.

It wasn’t exactly looking up, but it was something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, here's the new chapter. Hope it was ok!


	13. What's a Father to Do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joxter doesn't like waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain has been getting weird lately. It's been harder to focus on this project, and I'm being pulled into another one, but I'm still determined to finish this and make it good. 
> 
> You don't need to stress about me losing interest and dropping this or anything though, I've actually been consistently staying way ahead of my updates and I'm already working on the last chapter. I keep going back and editing previous ones though. I suppose my work ethic can be a little. . . . Eratic? and kind of all over the place. Sometimes I manage to focus on just writing the newest chapter and I get a bunch done, then other times I jump back and forth to other places, sometimes I re-read older bits that have yet to be posted, usually editing as I go when I see a spot that needs work. Lately, it's been harder to write though. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the climax, and it might need some work. 
> 
> Anyway, enough of me rambling. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Now that Knollermaiden was back and security risks were lower, (And Knoller wasn’t throwing anger tantrums anymore) Lakeworth and Knoller stopped putting off Snufkin’s next stealing trip.

They finished planning it and told Snufkin where he was going, what he was stealing, how he was going to do it, and how much time he had.

Knoller also gave Snufkin a new scarf to hide his collar with. It was a dull brown and very simple, and it was longer than his yellow one.

Snufkin wasn’t looking forward to another very stressful heist, but he was glad for the time away from Knoller and everyone else. 

He’d be away for four days, this time getting a tiara. It was another one in a museum, another item that was very valuable but not under the heaviest guard. 

Traveling wasn’t as good as his own wanderings were, but it was the best he had. 

For much of it he was completely alone which was its own little blessing, even if he had the stress inducing time limit ever-present in his mind.

The thievery went off without a hitch.

And Snufkin got back, having absolutely no idea how stressed Joxter and Little My were getting after four days of searching and not finding him anywhere.

……… 

Joxter was waiting.

He was sitting up on some rafters, out of sight of the guards, carefully peeking over to stare down at the hallway below him, watching.

He was waiting for Little My to get back. She had crawled through a vent that was on the wall right near him. He watched people pass under him, keeping an eye out, trying to keep his tail from thrashing too much and making a racket bumping against the wall. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself.

He felt a growl in his throat that he did his best to suppress.

This was their fifth day searching and sneaking around, and still, nothing. No sign of where Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were, no sign of Snufkin anywhere even though Knollermaiden had seen him the first day she got back, in Knoller’s study.

Joxter could smell him, but he just wasn’t around. It was driving him crazy. 

It was taking every ounce of his will power not to just go feral and start attacking guards left and right, but he knew they’d overpower him if he did. He couldn’t help Snufkin if they incapacitated him.

So he waited. 

And waited.

And waited and waited and waited.

Tail bristling, teeth-gnashing, suppressing growls and hisses, trying not to snap at his friends and allies.

All he could do was wait.

And then he spotted something that made him gasp and his heart do a flip.

……… 

Snufkin had gotten back from his trip a few hours ago. He was exhausted, but he managed to keep his head.

Knoller was finally back in a good mood again. That was mostly a good thing, but now Knoller was using Snufkin as entertainment again, ordering him around just for the fun of it and finding more ways to make him uncomfortable.

It just worsened his exhaustion. 

At least now Snufkin’s sanity wasn’t hanging by a thread, desperately doing whatever he could to keep Knoller from hurting Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden again.

But his paws still wouldn’t stop shaking no matter what he did.

Snufkin still remembered all the times Knoller had grabbed him roughly or hurt him. He still turned white, heart pounding, whenever Knoller approached him. He still expected something terrible with every interaction they had.

In the calm moments, he still mentally prepared for terror, still worked himself up into a tizzy waiting for another anger spike.

He still flinched terribly at every touch, at every call of his name.

At that moment, Snufkin was getting the mail again. He had already retrieved it, and he was walking back through the hallways towards Knoller’s study. 

There wasn’t much mail, just two letters and a newspaper.

Snufkin carried it in one hand, walking through a hallway that was actually very empty. He didn’t see anyone going through. He seemed to be alone, but his skin prickled a little like he was being watched.

Snufkin glanced around with his brows creased, hair standing on end.

Then someone jumped down from the rafters behind him. Snufkin jumped at the sound, nearly yelling in alarm, but before he could turn around whoever it was snatched Snufkin from behind, clapping a hand over his mouth, and jerking him backwards into the nearest room.

Snufkin freaked out, mind going a bit blank. He shoved his elbow into his attacker's stomach and jerked the hand off of his mouth.

“Snufkin- _Ouch_ , jeez,” a familiar voice was saying, grimacing in pain. “It’s me, it’s ok, _gosh_ you hit hard-”

The hands that’d grabbed him let go quickly and Snufkin gasped, stumbling forward and bumping into the arm of a couch. They were in the sitting room.

His heart was pounding as he whipped around, scrambling back without thinking and nearly falling backward right over the arm.

His heart nearly stopped when he realized who was in front of him.

Joxter was panting a little, one paw on the door pressing it closed, one hand holding where Snufkin had hit him.

He looked ragged and had bags under his eyes which were now pooling with tears as he stared back at Snufkin.

He let out a breathy laugh. It was quiet and very relieved sounding.

“Sorry for scaring you like that,” Joxter said, his voice gravelly but airy, cracking a little. 

Snufkin lost his balance and gasped sharply, limbs flailing just a little as the world rushed by and he landed with an oof on the couch behind him. He scrambled to sit up.

His body was still in fight or flight mode, leaving his brain reeling and confused.

“ _Dad?!_ ” He whispered, staring with wide eyes, voice barely responding as his brain tried to catch up with his surroundings. 

Joxter was still tense as he glanced at the door, ears twitching a little as he listened, but a minute later he was breathing in a relieved sigh. He turned back towards Snufkin, restraining himself from going too quickly to try and keep from spooking him again.

“We probably don’t have a lot of time,” Joxter said urgently, coming over. “We need to get you out of here-”

“What? _No!_ ” Snufkin freaked, scrambling backward a little, blood running cold.

Joxter paused, great distress running over his features.

“What do you mean no? Snufkin, it’s _me_ , we’re getting you to safety,” Joxter said, crouching down by the couch near him. “It’ll be faster out the window. We should-”

“No, Dad, I _can’t_ leave I mean it,” Snufkin’s breath hitched in his throat, slinging himself off of the couch and nearly knocking over an end table in his panicky state. He was backing away without even realizing it, glancing at the door and at the window nearby, heart-pounding, terrified that someone was going to walk in and see this.

Joxter looked even worse for wear, panicking at his son’s reaction.

“Snufkin,” Joxter started, trying to hold out his paw reassuringly, trying to be as calm as he could over the panic. “Does this have anything to do with what happened in the city? Because I know that wasn’t you, I _know_ he made you do it, but it’s ok now,” Joxter took a slow step forward, but he saw that it just worsened Snufkin’s freakout so he stopped moving.

Snufkin’s vision was blurring some. He shook his head.

“No. _No_. You shouldn’t be here,” he choked, shuddering. “He’ll find you- He’s going to hurt you, or he’ll hurt them-” His chest was heaving, hyperventilating and he was clutching his head, thinking about it. “Oh gosh- _oh my gosh_ , he’s going to hurt you-”

Joxter was frozen up in worry, tail bristling.

“What? Snufkin, it’s ok, it’s ok,” he rushed, trying to calm him. “He’s _not_ going to hurt me. I can get both of us out of here without being spotted. He’ll never know I was even here, it’s ok.”

Joxter was clearly itching to get closer to try and calm Snufkin better, but he knew he shouldn’t move any closer.

“No,” Snufkin bumped into a wall, shuddering and sliding down. “I can’t go, he’s going to _kill_ them,” he hyperventilated, tears streaming down his face. “He’s got Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden, he’ll _kill_ them if I leave- I can’t-” Snufkin choked on a sob, shuddering worse than ever.

Joxter went completely rigid, staring aghast.

Snufkin stood up and rushed around the couch, on the side Joxter wasn’t on. He collected the mail that had fallen on the floor by the door.

“You have to leave _now_ ,” Snufkin said, still desperately choking back sobs and trying to stop. “And I need to deliver this quickly. I can’t waste time. _Leave_ ,” he said firmly, hardening his gaze through the tears.

Snufkin was fumbling for the door handle, but Joxter rushed over and grabbed his paw.

“I can’t leave, I can’t let them do this to you,” Joxter said desperately, looking stricken and still kind of shocked and aghast.

“It’s not your choice-”

“They’re _hurting_ you-”

“It doesn’t matter!” Snufkin growled, trying to yank his paw away, but Joxter didn’t let go. “I’m not leaving. I’ve had a million chances to run away, but I won’t. Not when he can hurt them. Not when he can kill them. I don’t care if he hurts me. _Leave_ , Dad,” Snufkin tried to pull away again, but Joxter was holding on like it was his lifeline.

Joxter looked like he didn’t know what to say. He was still rather aghast.

“I’m not leaving you behind,” He finally said in a gravelly voice.

Snufkin saw a look in the Joxter’s eyes that made fear shoot up his spine.

“You’re not dragging me out,” Snufkin glared even though he probably still looked a mess. “I would _never_ forgive you. You’d be killing them.”

Joxter looked like he’d been slapped.

It tore terribly at Snufkin’s heart.

He was grimacing and wiping his face with his sleeve, and even growling in frustration. He finally managed to yank his paw away from Joxter’s grip.

His paw found the door handle.

Joxter looked rather frozen. Snufkin worried that he would just stand there, unmoving until someone came and found him.

“If you get caught and shoved in a cage too, I wouldn’t forgive you for that either,” Snufkin grimaced, clutching the handle tight. “I mean it. _Leave_.”

And with that, Snufkin couldn’t wait any longer. Already, he was going to have to run to make it back to Knoller’s study at a reasonable time, and he still probably looked like a mess.

He opened the door and slipped back out into the hallway, shutting the door and leaning against it, taking a shuddering breath, trying not to break down. 

Snufkin rubbed his face tiredly, wishing once again, really badly that he had his hat to hide under.

He clutched the mail tight and started running down the hallway, still wiping his face on his sleeve occasionally.

Some of the servants he passed stared after him oddly. 

When Snufkin made it to the study he leaned an arm against the door, panting. He tried to take long, deep breaths.

He shoved down his emotions as much as he could, preparing himself to go in.

He didn’t have time to waste though. He knew he wouldn’t be ready in time.

He took one last deep breath, trembling a little, and opened the door.

Knoller glanced over at him from the desk.

Snufkin walked over, hair rising, holding out the mail.

Knoller took it from him. He glanced at it a minute but looked back at Snufkin with an eyebrow raised.

“You look off,” he smirked a little, though he seemed kind of suspicious. “You look like you cried.”

Snufkin felt heat rising in his face and he clutched the hem of his smock tightly.

Knoller’s eyebrow raised a bit more. “Well? Did you?”

Snufkin was frozen for a minute, face surely at least a little red. He knew he couldn’t stall too long though. He nodded, just barely, knowing it would be foolish to try to lie.

He avoided talking in Knoller’s presence as much as possible. 

“What happened then? Why cry?” Knoller narrowed his eyes, looking very amused at how uncomfortable he was making him.

Oh boy.

Snufkin’s grip on his smock tightened until his knuckles were white. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, probably turning more red, trying to come up with what to say.

When he finally did speak, it was barely audible and came out shaky.

“. . . I was thinking. I just got lost in a memory. I miss plenty of things,” He mumbled, face burning.

“Aw, poor lad. Getting all sentimental,” Knoller chuckled to himself, looking through the mail. “But I guess you miss out on things when you cross the wrong people,” he murmured darkly, giving him the side-eye.

It sent a chill down Snufkin’s spine. 

Knoller gave the mail a bit more attention. He murmured something to himself.

“Go bring these to Lakeworth. They must have gotten mixed up. Remember to knock on his door. After that, go find Gib and give him this,” Knoller first handed him one of the letters and the newspaper, then he grabbed a small note off of his desk for Gib and handed that to Snufkin as well.

Snufkin nodded just a little as he took it, turning to leave.

“ _Snufkin._ ”

He flinched, looking back. Knoller was giving him another raised eyebrow and an expectant look that Snufkin knew.

“Ok master,” Snufkin mumbled, going red again, skin bristling.

Knoller grinned madly and waved him off.

Snufkin left as quick as he could.

……… 

It was hours later.

Joxter was still stunned.

He’d made it back to their camp, barely avoiding getting spotted a few times. He forgot to tell Little My he was going back. She’d be fine though. She was very self-sufficient.

Joxter had paced around in the camp for a long time, reeling and overwhelmed.

But now he was up in a tree, burying his face in Snufkin’s scarf, taking deep breaths, and going back over what had happened in his head.

Snufkin wasn’t coming. He apparently had tons of chances to escape, but he _didn’t._

_“You’re not dragging me out,” Snufkin had said, glaring up at him._

Joxter had had half a mind to.

_“I would **never** forgive you if you did.”_

Joxter was shaking. He couldn’t think properly. 

He had finally found his son again, and he could have snuck him out with little trouble, he could have saved him from that mad man, but _Snufkin wasn’t coming._

He was still in that mansion. He was still wearing that hideous collar.

And now it was taking every ounce of Joxter’s willpower not to break down.

What was any parent supposed to do in a situation like this?!

The scarf was damp. He’d cried on it a lot. . .

He spent hours up there having no idea what to do.

The sun was setting by the time Little My got back and found him wrapped around a branch, way high up in the tree, still reeling and overwhelmed, burying his face in Snufkin’s damp scarf

Little My was super grumpy at him for abandoning her and _super_ confused at the state he was in.

She ended up yelling at him a little and demanding to know what happened. She dragged him right out of the tree and sat him down at the bottom.

So he told her. He told her about how he spotted Snufkin going through the hallway and how he quickly got him into the nearest empty room.

He told her about how Snufkin reacted, how scared he was that Knoller was going to hurt him, and how Snufkin refused to leave.

He told her about what Snufkin said about Knoller threatening to kill Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden if he left.

He told her about what Snufkin said to him about not being dragged out.

Joxter knew he looked like a distraught mess of a person.

Little My was tense and even a little horrified at hearing the story, and even more livid that she hadn’t been around when it happened.

She had to snap her fingers in front of his face multiple times to get him to listen to her.

She informed him that while that encounter with Snufkin was _certainly_ bad, he was being an idiot, and hope wasn’t lost.

“Don’t you see it’s obvious?” Little My said. “All we need to do is get Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden out first, then he’ll be free to leave. Or at least free for us to take. Get a grip on yourself, we still have time to keep looking today.”

That did help pull Joxter back to his senses. It did seem too obvious when she said it like that.

Little My was still pretty furious. She couldn’t believe Joxter hadn’t thought to ask Snufkin if he knew where Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were being kept.

It just made Joxter feel like an idiot. Little My assured him he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Stuff goes on. Now the others understand Snufkin's situation better, and Little My get's to be a voice of reason.
> 
> I don't know why I do this. 
> 
> Like I am actually so confused at myself.


	14. Small Hopes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your kind words and encouragement! You guys make me so heart warmed 💕
> 
> I think I'm going to wait a bit before posting the next few chapters since they're the ones giving me a little trouble. So they will be a little late, but they will come. I just need some extra time to work on them.
> 
> Remember to drink water! Hydrate yourselves! :)

Knollermaiden was wandering the hallways of Lakeworth’s mansion, trying to look bored and curious and not like an anxious ball of nerves.

She’d only just two days ago been allowed to wander again, and she had a guard tailing her. Tomorrow she might not need a guard though. She’d be able to look more places then.

As she walked, every once in a while her guard would tell her not to look in certain rooms, not to go in certain areas.

She tried to look indifferent about it. She tried to look like she was being on her best behavior.

She was slowly making a mental map of the house as she went. She tried to keep track of where each place she wasn’t supposed to go was.

Many of them had guards so even when she wasn’t being tailed she wouldn’t get to look there, but a few of them didn’t.

She had a list currently in her head of places she wanted to look the next day. Five places that weren’t being guarded that she wasn’t allowed to look in. One of them she was pretty sure was just Lakeworth’s study though. It was just where he got a lot of work done and she only couldn’t go in because he didn’t like being disturbed. 

The guard behind her looked pretty bored. He didn’t seem to like her. Of course he didn’t. Barely anyone did. . .

Knollermaiden snapped herself out of that train of thought and had to scold herself a little. 

Too Ticky liked her. And so did Moominmamma. And Moominpappa had warmed up to her a little. And Lachlan would probably at least tolerate her if they managed to meet again. . .

A little while later she went outside and roamed the gardens. She was scared if she spent too much time roaming the halls people would get suspicious of her. She wanted to be normal. 

Later she had dinner with Knoller and Lakeworth. The table was relatively quiet. There was silverware clinking against the plates, but little else.

Knollermaiden didn’t think it would be wise to try just asking Knoller where Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll were yet. It might be a _long_ time before she could. She was still on somewhat rocky ground with him since running away.

And so it went. After dinner, she was escorted to her room where she would stay until tomorrow afternoon.

That night she stared out her window for a long while, looking for Jenny.

Every night so far Jenny had given her an update on their searching and Knollermaiden gave her an update on her own situation to tell the others.

Knollermaiden had been pretty shocked the first time Jenny demonstrated what she could do, and honored that she was trusted with such a heavy secret, though she knew part of it had been more about necessity than trust. Jenny had warned her afterward very darkly that if Knollermaiden ever told anyone the secret, Jenny would hunt her down.

So there she was, gazing at the garden, already ready for bed in her nightdress. 

The window was closed since it was so cold, and there was a candle sitting on the window sill.

Eventually, Knollermaiden spotted the red-headed girl, crouched in the garden, hidden from the guards but visible from the window.

Jenny was hidden enough that Knollermaiden wouldn’t have spotted her just glancing out. She only found her because she knew where to look.

Jenny stared intensely at Knollermaiden from where she was crouching.

“ _You find them yet?_ ” Jenny asked, her voice slightly different as it sounded in Knollermaiden’s mind.

“No,” Knollermaiden sighed quietly. “But I think I’ll have a better chance tomorrow. They aren’t sending me with an escort anymore.”

“ _Well, at least that’s good news because we haven’t found them either yet. But Joxter had a run-in with Snufkin. It didn’t end well though. We can’t get Snufkin out until Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden are safe_ ,” Jenny informed her.

Knollermaiden was kind of concerned about that, but Jenny didn’t give her the full story.

“ _Oh, another thing_ ,” Jenny seemed to only just then remember. “ _I think Moominmamma and Too Ticky and the cops are arriving soon, tomorrow or the day after maybe. That should be good news._ ”

Knollermaiden nodded.

They both knew it would be wiser to keep it short, so Jenny snuck off and Knollermaiden went to bed.

She was a bit glum since all their searching still hadn’t gotten anywhere, but she was hopeful about the next day, even if she was a little terrified. 

She would have little room for error. There weren’t as many guards inside as there had been back at Knoller’s old mansion, but there were more servants bustling about. Not too many that it would be impossible not to get caught, but certainly enough to make her anxious.

So she fell into a restless sleep.

……… 

Snufkin was curled up on a mat near a heater. Knoller was snoring on the opposite side of the room, just barely audible from where Snufkin was.

Snufkin was wrapped up in a blanket, listening to the night sounds, unable to get to sleep. It was still kind of cold and he had a lot on his mind.

Snufkin curled up a bit more, burying his face in the blanket and groaning almost inaudibly in frustration.

He knew his Dad must still be around somewhere. He might have left the mansion and he might not have gotten caught, but Snufkin knew that Joxter wouldn’t be able to give up, just like how Snufkin couldn’t give up protecting his friends.

A part of Snufkin was incredibly heart warmed and mushy, and wanted to cry knowing that his Dad was around trying to get him out of this mess. 

But it didn’t feel possible. As much as Snufkin desperately hoped for a way out of this hell, he’d been there for over a month and it was becoming a new normal. 

Knoller was never going to let him go. He was going to squeeze every ounce out of his revenge as possible, breaking Snufkin down little by little, into his perfect little attack dog.

Snufkin was just terrified his dad was going to get caught in the crossfire. He was going to get caught, and locked up, and abused, and Knoller would have one more person to threaten Snufkin with. One more person to train him with.

Snufkin bit his lip, trying to keep silent, trying not to cry again.

Didn’t he cause enough pain already? _Why_ did Joxter have to find him like this? Wasn’t it bad enough that Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden had been stuck in a cage even longer than Snufkin had been stuck in a museum case?

Snufkin could only desperately hope that his dad wouldn’t make any rash decisions, that he wouldn’t get caught. That he’d. . . Give up eventually. Even though that thought almost hurt as bad as the alternative.

……… 

The next day Knollermaiden was very tense and jittery while she waited to be let out of her room. She wasn’t at all ready for this, but she was going to do it anyway.

The morning hours crawled by painfully slow and she mostly just sat and stared out the window the whole time, doing absolutely nothing since there was nothing to do.

It gave her plenty more time to work herself up in an anxious ball of dread about the danger of what she was doing, but it also gave her time to feel bored and frustrated and just want to get it over with.

Much later, it was finally time to go have lunch with Knoller, and then she was allowed to wander again.

She ate her food pretty slowly. Knoller finished before her and excused himself, off to do some important work somewhere.

Apparently, Lakeworth was away for a day or two. He was going to some auction somewhere to sell a tiara or something. Knollermaiden didn’t hear much about it, but that meant she could probably go ahead and check the room she thought was his study.

So she walked out of the dining room, glancing around a bit anxiously. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself and go back to looking bored and curious. She couldn’t be too jittery or nervous looking. That would be suspicious.

She was still _incredibly_ nervous, but she managed to hold it inside and not hold herself too stiffly.

She didn’t bother waiting until she was fully ready because she knew she wouldn’t move at all if she did.

First off, a door down the left hallway from the dining room. One that had a dresser next to it with a little sculpture on it. That was one she hadn’t been allowed to check before.

On her way there she passed a servant who was going to the dining room to clear away dishes. Knollermaiden tried to drop her shoulders so she didn’t look so tense.

She passed by the servant and meandered her way over down the hallway. She reached the door and looked around to make sure no one was around to see her. She leaned close to it and listened for any movement inside.

Her nerves rose considerably as she stood there, making sure no one was inside to see her and scold her for looking where she wasn’t supposed to.

It sounded like this room was empty though. She double-checked no one was coming towards her in the hallway, and then carefully opened the door as quietly as she could, peeking in.

Inside was a weird-looking parlor with a _lot_ of expensive-looking paintings. Almost all of them were of one person in many different places, poses, and outfits.

Knollermaiden could very quickly and easily determine that Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden weren’t anywhere in there, so she closed the door and took a deep breath before continuing on.

The next two were on the first floor, where she was, then two more were on the second floor.

She made her way through the hallways, passing by guards and servants every once in a while. It took a lot of willpower that she didn’t know she had to keep calm on the outside as she passed them, to keep her face neutral. 

Eventually, she made it to the next door, and she repeated the process of the first door, checking and listening and being careful. Once again, she quickly determined that Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll weren’t inside, and she left quickly.

When she checked the next door, a servant nearly spotted her listening to it. Knollermaiden heard them coming and moved away from the door quickly enough that when the servant’s footsteps turned the corner to where they could see her, she wasn’t caught. She walked off somewhere to look less suspicious and circled back later to check the door again, heart hammering at the close call.

She had to go all the way in the room to get a proper look this time but found nothing helpful in there either.

There were more guards upstairs. She slowly walked over to the staircase. This didn’t feel real. It should have been a dream, but she knew it wasn’t.

She almost started reminding herself that it wasn’t a dream, but then she realized she maybe shouldn’t. She could remember afterward when she was done. That would be less stressful. It was a miracle she was holding together her act this long already.

So she continued on, at first approaching her own room, but then she turned down another hallway.

She made it to Lakeworth’s study and listened to make sure no one was cleaning inside or anything.

It was quieter upstairs. Less people moving around. Less footsteps. No clatter from the kitchen.

She crept inside after a little bit.

The room was rather large. It had a fireplace and a sitting area, lots of bookshelves and art scattered around, but the main focus was the big desk, with lots of files and books and pens around, and a big comfy chair.

Knollermaiden looked around, quietly creeping further inside. She found a closet with a few coats inside and an umbrella. It was bigger than it needed to be probably.

She wandered over to the desk, finding lots of business things on it. She had never been taught much about business so she didn’t understand it.

One thing did catch her eye though. There was one book sitting open that looked kind of like a diary or a journal. Knollermaiden moved over to see it better.

It seemed Lakeworth was getting rather annoyed at Knoller. .

Apparently, Lakeworth was getting fed up with Knoller’s anger spikes and how he was treating him. Knoller seemed to treat everyone around him, including Lakeworth himself, like they were beneath him. Lakeworth saw himself as a partner or an equal. He even argued to himself that he had more power over Knoller than the other way around. After all, Lakeworth wasn’t the one being hunted by police, and all of the servants and guards were loyal to _him_. This was Lakeworth’s mansion. Knoller should stop ordering people around like he owned the place.

Knollermaiden had no idea from her brief interactions at dinner with Knoller and Lakeworth that there was this much tension underneath. She wondered if _Knoller_ even knew. 

Knollermaiden snapped out of her thoughts when she realized there were footsteps approaching the study. They were much more noticeable and echoey upstairs.

Knollermaiden panicked, glancing around frantically, trying to figure out what to do. It sounded like it was too late to slip out without being spotted. She had to _hide._

Her panicking had slowed her down now. She was a bit petrified in fear, heart pounding, hands getting clammy as the noise grew closer.

She spotted the closet. It was big enough. She rushed over, nearly knocking something over, getting inside and closing the door. Just as it clicked closed, someone opened the study door.

Knollermaiden was shaking, heart pounding, unable to move.

There were tiny little slots in the door that she could see out of.

A maid had come in to sweep and dust. They went around, humming a little bit as they worked. 

Knollermaiden was as quiet as possible, desperately hoping the maid wouldn’t need anything out of the closet. She didn’t have an excuse for being there. She would be in so much trouble. Knoller might be angry.

That last thought alone made her tremble.

Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, worsening her nerves. It took a _long_ time for the maid to finish their work, and it felt even longer.

Knollermaiden stayed there, frozen in the closet for a little while after the maid finally left.

Eventually, she managed to steal herself up enough to creep out. Heart still thudding loudly, she walked up to the door and listened to hear if anyone was in the hall outside.

It took a while for her to trust herself and her hearing enough to carefully open the door and slip out.

She closed the door as quietly as she could, paws shaking, and rushed towards her room.

She still looked like a nervous wreck. She couldn’t keep searching like this. She had to calm down first.

She made it inside and closed the door, leaning against it and taking a shaky breath.

“Ok,” she murmured, feeling a little light-headed, her voice very high. “Ok, ok, ok. I just did that. But I’m ok. Everything’s ok. . .”

She felt very exhausted for some reason. She had mostly just sat around all day, but now she wanted to just go lay on her bed and stare at the wall.

But she had another door to check. She had to keep looking. 

Every day they stalled was another day her frie-

. . . Every day they stalled was another day people she cared about could be suffering.

She couldn’t give up when she still had a few hours to look around. She had to get a grip on herself.

It took a little while. If she waited till she was fully mentally prepared she would never move, but she _had_ to look calm on the outside. There were guards around the rooms near Knoller’s room, and she was going to have to pass them.

It was a whole half hour before she trusted herself enough to go back out again.

The last door was a disappointment. She _really_ hoped she’d find at least a clue, a hint of where they might be. It had been so long already.

The last door was just a storage space for more private things a cop shouldn’t see, like expensive goods, and tons of museum maps and layouts, and a small box of actual explosives. It was a little scary, and Knollermaiden left quickly.

She closed the door behind her but nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Gib down the hall.

Oh crap. This was bad.

Knollermaiden’s heart was pounding, her brain going a thousand miles an hour with horrible possibilities about being spotted as Gib raised a confused eyebrow at her.

He was walking over.

Knollermaiden knew the look he was giving her. He knew she wasn’t supposed to be there. He knew she knew it too. But he wasn’t. . . He wasn’t hostile. Just incredulous.

He stopped a few feet away from her, giving her an expectant look. 

Knollermaiden opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say.

The silence was tense and Knollermaiden’s anxiety grew worse.

Gib sighed after the silence went on too long. He gave her a bit of a flatter look, still raising an eyebrow. She better explain quick.

“I. . .” She fumbled for something to say. What could she say? She couldn’t tell the truth! 

“Gib, _please_ don’t tell Uncle or anyone,” she pleaded, paws clammy, her voice almost whispering. “I was just looking, I didn’t touch anything, I promise.”

Gib glanced around a little awkwardly, his shoulders dropping just a tad.

“You’re on unsteady ground,” Gib murmured, still looking pretty incredulous.

“ _Please_ Gib, I don’t want him to get mad at me again, you saw how he was,” Knollermaiden said, her voice trembling, feeling her eyes wetter than usual. Just imagining her uncle’s reaction to knowing she’d stepped out of line again sent a shiver down her back.

Gib sighed. There was another long moment of silence. Knollermaiden’s nerves got even worse.

Gib glanced around looking indecisive. 

Knollermaiden pleaded more with her eyes, knowing he’d get overwhelmed and annoyed if she just kept saying please over and over again. She had to give him time.

And he took it. He was pursing his lips like he really didn’t know what to do. 

Finally, he sighed again, shoulders dropping all the way.

“I’m not ratting you out. Keep doing whatever you want. My lips are sealed,” He said, walking over and playfully bumping her shoulder like he used to do often back before this whole mess started.

Knollermaiden felt massive relief. She wanted to hug him badly but knew he didn’t like them.

“Thank you,” she whispered instead, managing a smile.

He shrugged, smiling a tad too, but it dropped back into a frown quickly. “If you ask me, you shouldn’t have come back,” he murmured. “Be careful.”

Knollermaiden wasn’t really expecting that. She stared a little blankly at him for a minute, but then she nodded. “I’ll try.”

He nodded a bit gruffly. He gave her another serious look and then meandered off down the hallway, hands in his pockets.

Knollermaiden stared after him, taking a deep breath, trying to settle herself again.

She was ok.

She could keep going.

She hurried off.

……… 

Another day passed with nothing to show for it. Knollermaiden decided to try going outside and peek through windows. She was extra careful and checked every single window on the ground floor.

Still, she didn’t see them anywhere, but knowing the layout of the ground floor made her think Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden just _had_ to be upstairs somewhere. That at least narrowed it down some, and it made some sense since there were more guards upstairs.

Knollermaiden was starting to get a hunch. Two of the rooms surrounding her Uncle’s room were guarded. What if Knoller was keeping his prisoners very close? 

Knollermaiden _really_ wanted to check those rooms, but it was always guarded. They would gruffly send her away.

She did try asking them, putting on her very best bored face and honestly acting just a _tiny_ bit like a brat, just curious about what her Uncle was doing. It didn’t work. They didn’t answer any of her questions. 

At one point, Knollermaiden actually saw Snufkin enter one of the rooms, carrying three simple, brown, paper bags. 

She saw it on her way to eat lunch with Knoller. She never did see Snufkin around when they had meals. . . So was he eating in there? With Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden maybe? There were three bags after all.

Knollermaiden thought she should tell Jenny about her hunch that night. Maybe someone else would have a better chance sneaking in than her? Then again, if they did, it had been so long now that they would have been found by now. .

All she could do was look out for opportunities, keep searching, and keep avoiding her Uncle’s wrath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gib has become a much more interesting character to write during this story. Knollermaiden has known him about as long as she's known Knoller, and Gib probably didn't even notice himself slowly growing a little attached to her. .


	15. Angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little My sneaks around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to another chapter of _Knoller's Revenge!_
> 
> Sorry for the wait. I just want to make sure whatever this is isn't crap. Hope you like it!
> 
> And Guess what?? There's more _Fan art!!_ Thank you BadjaBubby!! It's awesome!   
> Here's a link, you guys should check it out: https://twitter.com/BadjaBubby/status/1349430454005485571 
> 
> Also, remember to drink water, stay hydrated!

Little My was crawling around another vent. She and Joxter had decided to split up again for a bit.

There weren’t very many vents in this place, but she found them useful where there were. 

Little My was getting just as impatient as everyone else. The police were due to arrive any hour now and they still had no idea where the prisoners were being hidden. It was infuriating searching this long with nothing to show for it.

She was also still really mad about missing a chance to see Snufkin. She still hadn’t managed to spot him yet all week. Other’s had. She was determined to find him today, even if she couldn’t talk to him. Even if she had to just watch from above.

She was upstairs, crawling around above Lakeworth’s rooms. He was pretty boring, she found. He had his own business, he was obsessed with money, and he collected a lot of art. Apparently, he sold a lot of art too. 

While he was away, Little My had looked through a ton of his things, but he never wrote down any hints to where Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were being kept.

Now Little My was crawling away to look somewhere else. She was going to try and reach the vents above Knoller’s side of the house. It might be impossible since the vent opening was just barely in line of sight of the guards, but she had brought a coin with her today and she was going to try and use it as a distraction.

So she crept back into the hallway, slowly closing the vent behind her as quietly as possible, looking around.

She snuck around the hallways, going over to the corner that led to Knoller’s rooms. She peeked around at the guards. There were four of them, two at two different doors, stoic as always, staring into space, probably bored. 

The vent was super close, just a few feet away from the corner, but still in their sights.

Little My took out her coin and stared at it determinedly. 

She peeked around again and chucked it across the hallway.

The guards tensed, staring after it, but instead of going over to it and picking it up or something, they looked towards where it came from.

Little My snapped out of sight, gritting her teeth.

She heard footsteps approaching her. She ran quietly down the hall before they could see her.

The hallways were situated sort of like a rectangle so she ran all the way around to the other side of the hallway. She peeked around, but there were still two guards. She grumbled quietly.

The other two guards who had followed her were starting to circle back around to where she was now.

There was a fancy, blue and white vase nearby, so she hid inside it as they went past.

Great. So much for her coin.

Later, after the guards finished searching for wherever the coin came from, they returned to their posts and she crept back out.

She peeked carefully around again. How was she going to reach the vent now?

She was pondering how to do this, crouching under a table next to the vase.

Then she saw Knollermaiden walking towards her room across the hall. 

Little My glanced between her and Knoller’s hallway.

Hmm. . .

Little My crept over towards Knollermaiden, quietly hurrying along until she came up behind her.

“Hey,” Little My whispered, grabbing Knollermaiden’s skirt and startling her.

Knollermaiden turned around, looking very surprised to see her there, glancing around to make sure no one else was around to see them.

“I need you to distract some guards for a second. Just get them to look towards you and I’ll be able to get to the vent. Talk to them or something,” Little My whispered determinedly.

“Where?” Knollermaiden whispered back, sounding nervous.

Little My pointed. “Knoller’s hallway.”

She looked a bit apprehensive. It seemed she was thinking.

“I’ve already bothered them too much I think. . . . . But I have an idea,” Her eyes widened a little as it came to her. “But it will take a while. Can you wait? Like, forty to fifty minutes?”

Little My glanced around, thinking. She didn’t fancy the wait, but it was better than nothing. So she nodded.

“Ok. Where can I find you when it’s ready?” Knollermaiden asked.

Little My pondered that for a minute. “I’ll go to your room.”

“Ok,” Knollermaiden nodded. She left, going downstairs instead of to her room where she had been heading.

About forty minutes later, Little My was back in the same corner around the hallway, close to the vent. 

She peeked around and saw Knollermaiden approaching the guards with a plate of fresh brownies and a sheepish smile. She was offering them to the guards.

It got their attention good enough and Little My hurried over to the vent. She had to be as quiet as possible, no squeaking.

She crept inside and closed it behind her, sighing in relief. Finally, she could search here.

She cautiously crawled through the vent, having to climb up a long bit. Soon, she reached a spot where she could gaze down into a storage room. She looked around, wondering if she should bother going all the way in to properly see. It didn’t look like she’d need to though. It was small. She could see almost all of it.

She crawled over and found there wasn’t any opening to see into the next room. That was weird. . .

She kept going until she was right above Knoller’s study. Or his office if you might.

He was down there. She gritted her teeth, scowling and barely holding back growls. She couldn’t bring any attention to herself.

Knoller was sitting at a desk, looking at a map of some kind, occasionally scribbling something down on a notebook next to him.

Little My looked around the rest of the room. Then she gasped.

Snufkin was in there.

He was sitting next to a wall, his arms tiredly draped around his knees. He had bags under his eyes and he was staring into space.

Little My could finally see with her own eyes the collar everyone kept mentioning. There was a rope tied to it, connected up high on the wall. 

Her eyes were wide, and she was pale and aghast at the sight of it. 

Snufkin was so still, with lots of tension evident in his posture. His whole body was so still, but she could just barely see from where he was that his paws were just slightly trembling.

Joxter had mentioned feeling Snufkin’s paws shaking when he’d grabbed him. 

It was weird to think about.

Little My stared at Snufkin for a long time before she managed to tear her gaze away and look at the rest of the room.

No sign of Moomintroll or Snorkmaiden. Just standard office and study stuff. Not as fancy as Lakeworth’s though, and a bit more cramped. 

Knoller stood up a bit abruptly, making Snufkin flinch and glance up at him apprehensively. 

Little My’s skin bristled and she had to suppress another growl as Knoller approached Snufkin. Snufkin looked very frozen up, shuddering some as Knoller bent down and grabbed at his collar. He was untying the rope.

“I think the mail should be here by now. Go fetch it,” Knoller commanded, letting the rope drop.

Snufkin stood up, not looking at Knoller. He mumbled something Little My couldn’t hear. He looked very uncomfortable.

Knoller walked back to his desk and Snufkin left the room. 

Little My was tense, watching. She didn’t move from her spot, gritting her teeth as she stared at Knoller’s back, craning her neck to see what he was writing. She listened attentively, hoping he’d reveal where Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were if she waited long enough.

A bit later Snufkin returned with one letter and a very small package. He handed both to Knoller and stood there stiffly as Knoller took them.

“Hmm,” Knoller hummed, flipping the letter around once, looking at it. A minute later he set it down and focused on the package. “I think I know what this is. I actually got you something,” he grinned, giving Snufkin the side-eye.

Little My couldn’t see Snufkin’s face from the angle he was at, but he did seem even more apprehensive now.

Knoller took out a knife and Snufkin nearly jumped, shuffling back a step, but Knoller just grabbed the package and slid it closer, using the knife to open it.

Knoller opened the box and pulled some packing paper out, then he pulled out a harmonica. Little My gasped a little, brows creased.

From what she could see of Snufkin, he seemed rather stunned.

“You gotten any better at playing yet? I know you still do it, I heard you in the forest before we caught you,” Knoller smirked, holding it out.

Snufkin was too frozen to take it. Knoller shook it a little impatiently. Snufkin shuddered a little, hesitantly reaching out and grabbing it, staring at it blankly.

There was a tense moment of silence.

“Well? Have you?” Knoller raised an eyebrow at him.

Snufkin glanced around a second and Little My could see his face getting a tiny bit red.

“I. . I don’t know,” she barely heard him mumble.

“Well, play something for me. We’ll find out,” Knoller smirked.

Snufkin’s shoulders raised considerably in tension. Little My was rather baffled and greatly offended on Snufkin’s behalf. She knew he never liked playing for people who demanded it, least of all a villain like Knoller.

Snufkin seemed to stare at the harmonica. He held it up, gripping it tightly. Little My could see the redness from his face creeping all the way to his ears.

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Knoller said flatly, grinning through clenched teeth. 

Little My saw a shudder run down Snufkin’s back. He stalled a little bit more. He played a single note softly. He stared at the instrument for a minute again and then hesitantly played a scale. He glanced back up at Knoller, freezing up at the look he was being given. Then he went and played a song.

Little My wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but she knew she’d heard it somewhere and she knew it was old.

She could feel her anger rising and bubbling seeing her little brother being put on the spot and made uncomfortable like this. It was getting increasingly difficult holding back growls and keeping quiet.

Snufkin finished the song and stared intently at the ground, jaw tight.

Knoller looked downright malicious, grinning at him, making Little My’s anger flare up again. 

“Eh, not too bad I suppose. You could still use some work though. Maybe we’ll work on that in the future,” Knoller said, patting Snufkin’s shoulder. He held out his paw expectantly and Snufkin dropped the harmonica in it like it was a hot potato. He was grimacing, eyes a little wide at Knoller’s words. Knoller chuckled a little bit and slid the harmonica into a nook on one of the back shelves of his desk.

Knoller stood up and Snufkin shuffled backward a step.

“Come here,” Knoller beckoned casually, walking over to the wall where the rope, leash, thing, was still dangling from earlier.

Snufkin trailed behind, walking around to that same spot as before, looking just a little bit up and to the side, at the wall. He tensed up terribly as Knoller grabbed his collar and started tying the rope back on.

Knoller finished up quickly and sat back at the desk. Snufkin stood, leaning against the wall, staring blankly at the ground and looking tired.

Knoller tisked to himself, tapping his pen absently on the desk for a minute, seeming to get lost in thought.

A minute later he glanced at the letter again. He grabbed it and opened it. It took a while for him to read it. A minute passed.

Little My saw him sit up a bit sharper. A little later he was balling his fist. He uttered a dirty word and stood up quickly. Snufkin stared at him with wide eyes, shifting closer to the wall.

Knoller paced around angrily, still staring at the letter. 

He got to a part that made him growl and punch the wall hard, balling up the paper in his paw. 

Little My even flinched, hardening her gaze at him. She glanced at Snufkin again and he looked very distressed and pale. He looked like he wanted to grab his scarf, but it was still in Joxter’s coat pocket. Snufkin’s paw just touched his collar and he flinched, jerking his paw back down to his side.

“That dirty, little,” Knoller was muttering to himself, uttering a few bad words. He growled loudly and kicked a bookshelf, knocking a few things off.

Knoller glared at the fallen books, balling up the letter tighter before throwing it at the wall. He stomped back over to his desk, not even sitting down, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen.

“Pick those up,” Knoller snapped at Snufkin, pointing at the fallen books before going back to his notes.

Snufkin was trembling, looking between Knoller and the books and then at his leash. He cautiously crept forward, but he could barely reach them with the amount of room he had. He held on to the rope, right near the collar so it wouldn’t feel like he was choking, then he had to use his foot to slide the books closer so he could bend down and pick them up.

Little My’s anger was bubbling up again. 

Snufkin managed to pick up the books in a stack, but he couldn’t quite reach the bookshelf.

He looked _very_ nervous, glancing between the bookshelf and Knoller.

“. . . Uh. . I can’t exactly,” he started saying quietly, though he fizzled out when Knoller snapped back around to look at him. Snufkin inhaled a bit sharply, getting paler and shuffling back a step. Knoller was mad.

“Did I ask you a question?” Knoller growled, straightening up and towering over Snufkin.

“No,” Snufkin mumbled, getting a bit paler.

“Did I say you could speak?” Knoller said, advancing closer, fists clenched, glaring lividly.

“No,” Snufkin said, even quieter, trembling and retreating closer to the wall. He couldn’t look Knoller in the eye, instead glancing around anywhere else as Little My’s temper rose, nearly boiling over.

Her face was quite red, baring her teeth at Knoller. How could she let anyone treat her family like this?

Knoller had cornered Snufkin against the wall. Snufkin was pressing his back against it, clutching the stack of books tightly like a shield over his chest.

Snufkin inhaled sharply through his teeth when Knoller grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him.

“Have I not told you not to speak before being spoken to?” Knoller growled menacingly.

“I think I just did that on my own,” Snufkin mumbled, pale as a ghost.

“Are you trying to get smart with me?” Knoller let go of Snufkin’s chin, only to grab his collar instead and jerk him closer a bit. Two of the books from the top of the pile tumbled over from the sharp movement, clattering to the floor.

Snufkin shook his head a tiny bit frantically. He couldn’t keep staring at Knoller in the face and was glancing around at anything else, but that just seemed to get Knoller angrier.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” Knoller growled again, snatching Snufkin’s wrist with his free hand. The books tumbled to the ground and Knoller shoved Snufkin against the wall.

Snufkin grimaced and hissed through pain, trembling terribly, and that got Little My to boil over and completely snap.

There was no one around to wisely hold her back.

Little My slammed the vent open, growling worse than she ever had, jumping on Knoller’s head and practically stomping on it and denting his bowler hat.

Knoller let out a shocked yell of pain while Snufkin gasped. Little My jumped on Knoller’s arm, the one he’d grabbed Snufkin’s collar with, letting out a war cry and biting down on it hard.

Knoller yelled out, Jerking his arm back furiously. He whirled around a bit, dragging Snufkin with him. Snufkin made a surprised yelp, nearly tripping over his feet and grimacing when Knoller squeezed his wrist tighter.

A minute later Knoller let go of him to jerk Little My off of his arm by the foot.

Little My kicked his fingers in the right place to get him to drop her and she twisted to land on her feet, growling loudly.

Snufkin was aghast and cradling his wrist. Little My could see a bruise peeking out from under his sleeve. It was really dark though, too dark for him to have only just gotten it.

It just made her even madder. Knoller barely got a good look at her before she dove towards his leg with another bite.

Knoller yelled out furiously, trying to kick her off.

“Guards!” He bellowed, and Snufkin gasped.

Little My avoided his grasp, jumping away. She leaped around behind him and kicked him hard in the back, letting out another war cry and getting him to stumble and nearly fall over.

He yelled loudly in frustration, grabbing his desk chair and throwing it at her.

She managed to move in time, but it collided with Snufkin’s leash, jerking him towards it. He tripped towards it, landing awkwardly, and immediately tried to scramble back up.

Little My rushed in for another attack.

……… 

Knollermaiden was still outside with the guards. She wasn’t sure how long she could stall. Should she wait until Little My came back out again?

She didn’t know, so she stuck around for a while. One of the guards was apparently allergic to wheat so she had asked him what other foods he liked. She managed to get him talking and one of the other guards ended up making fun of him for one of the foods he mentioned.

It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was working. They were talking and they weren’t suspicious of her for sticking around.

At one point Snufkin came out of Knoller’s study, glanced at them, and hurried off. When he returned Knollermaiden decided to offer him a brownie. He stared at her oddly for a second but shook his head in the end. He went back inside Knoller’s study.

A while later the guards tensed up and stopped chatting. They were looking towards the study.

Knollermaiden heard it. Was there yelling in there?

Then Knoller called the guards angrily. 

The guards rushed over at the sounds of a fight. Knollermaiden was rather stunned, not knowing what to do.

Then she spotted a nearby door. The one she’d seen Snufkin go into that one time with the bags.

The guards all went in Knoller’s study.

Oh, crap, this was an opportunity.

Knollermaiden watched the last guard disappear inside the study, mind reeling, paws clammy at her realization. 

Heart racing, she forced her body forward, paws shaking from nerves as she grabbed the door handle.

Oh gosh, _Oh gosh, **Oh gosh. . . .**_

She quietly opened the door, forgetting to listen in her panic, and peeked inside.

There weren’t any windows in this room so it was dim.

A second later her eyes adjusted and she gasped.

……… 

Little My was quick and ruthless, dodging around hands and kicks and things thrown at her, giving out bites and kicks of her own.

She yelled out insults as she went, all the while trying to get enough time to open a window or get up to the vent again, but they kept on blocking her. 

She got extra satisfaction whenever she got another hit on Knoller. She’d teach him to mess with her little brother.

She dodged another pair of hands, ducking under someone’s legs and scurrying up someone’s arm, giving them a bite.

Someone went to whack her with a bat, but she moved just in time and they hit their accomplice instead.

She jumped on someone’s head, nearly reaching the vent, but someone snagged her smock at the last second. She got out of their grip easily enough, they barely had her at all.

Someone angrily threw a heavy paperweight at her but she dodged it just fine, sticking her tongue out to taunt the thrower before dodging another kick.

“Urgh! Get back here you little imp,” Someone yelled angrily. There were lots of growls all around.

They saw that she was trying to escape so they kept one guy close to the door, one at the window, one in front of Snufkin, and the other guy and Knoller chased her around.

Knoller nearly managed to snatch her, but she jumped up onto the desk, grabbing a few books and chucking them at him.

He yelled, enraged, trying to snatch her again and again. She had a few close calls, but she managed to evade, all the while grabbing random stuff and chucking it, completely messing up his desk, and managing to spill ink on a bunch of stuff.

A bat came out of nowhere and nearly swept her right off.

Meanwhile, Snufkin was being pressed against the wall, watching over the guard’s shoulder, aghast, wide eyed, and petrified. 

Little My grimaced. He’d been adamant about Joxter not getting caught. She knew why he was so scared.

Meanwhile, she was getting _really_ annoyed. She was dodging around them fine, but she still couldn’t get out. Would she manage to tire them out before she became exhausted?

This was worrying. This was exactly why she should have had someone with better self-control holding her back. But dang it, Knoller deserved every bit of this and a million times worse. So she trashed his desk as best she could and kept getting in more bites.

A minute later the guard managed to grab her arm tight. She bit his hand and yanked away and he nearly grabbed her again.

She dodged away from him, unable to notice Knoller backing away and getting an idea.

A minute later she spotted him yanking a terrified Snufkin away from the wall, out from behind the guard stationed in front of him.

Knoller quickly untied the leash while Little My growled furiously, heat rising in her face, dodging another blow from the guard, fully intending on rushing over and getting Snufkin away from him.  
Only then Knoller yelled to the guard. 

“Stand down,” Knoller barked, getting a determined glint in his eye. He shoved Snufkin towards the center of the room. “You get her to stop.”

Snufkin was as white as a sheet, mouth a bit open, glancing between Knoller and Little My.

Little My was just as shocked. Meanwhile, the guard stepped back and stopped attacking her, though he still held his bat at the ready, watching the two of them with narrowed eyes.

Little My’s brows were creased, glancing around at everyone. No one approached, so she stayed where she was, crouched and ready to move when they came again.

All eyes were drifting between Snufkin and Little My as they hesitated.

“I know you know her,” Knoller growled impatiently. “I remember where I’ve seen her before. Get her to stop fighting us. You know the consequences if you don’t.”

Snufkin was shaking really badly, even worse than before.

“She never listens to me,” he said shakily, massively distressed.

“Well you better make her,” Knoller yelled threateningly.

“He never could,” Little My yelled defiantly. “I’d never surrender to you. Snufkin could chase me around or try to talk me into it all he wants, I’ll _Never_ stop.” She glared lividly at Knoller as she spoke, face probably still red. To add to that point she picked up another thing from the desk and threw it at him.

Little My glanced between Snufkin and the vent in the ceiling. He was in the right spot to jump on, but he wasn’t tall enough. . . 

Knoller was considering her words. He gave her a flat glare. Then he got a glint in his eye revealing he had a new idea.

He walked forward, coming up behind Snufkin who glanced back with wide eyes, tightening up.

“You came for him though, didn’t you,” Knoller glared, slinging an arm around Snufkin’s shoulder and pulling him to his side.

Little My’s temper rose. Two of the guards nearby crept just a step closer to her, ready.

“Perhaps you’re too stubborn for him to convince you, but would you come quietly to keep him unharmed?” Knoller snaked his arm around Snufkin’s neck and pulled him up a bit. Snufkin gasped, nearly choking, grabbing at the arm, barely touching the ground with his toes, struggling to breathe.

Little My gasped tensing up worse.

“You wouldn’t,” She yelled furiously. “You wouldn’t kill him! You’ve spent too much time on this.”

“Maybe not,” Knoller mused as Snufkin panicked worse, barely gasping strangled breaths, pulling frantically on the arm. Knoller’s gaze hardened. “But Snufkin here knows better than most that I’m willing to scar the wrong people for others' mistakes.” At that Knoller’s malicious grin returned.

Little My glared at him incredulously, mouth hanging a little, fists clenching so hard they were nearly vibrating.

“So is your precious half-breed friend going to get scarred for your mistake?” Knoller grinned, tightening his grip. Snufkin looked even more panicked and pale the longer he couldn’t breathe.

Little My didn’t know what to do. There was no way in heck she could just surrender. Not to Knoller. But she couldn’t let them hurt Snufkin more.

She wasn’t happy with the options he was giving her so she made her own. She charged right over, yelling another war cry, and bit Knoller’s leg again. 

He yelled out angrily stepping back and jerking his leg around. She scurried up his back and over his shoulder too quick for him to react in time, and bit his arm.

He dropped Snufkin and Snufkin fell to the floor, gasping and hyperventilating, color starting to return to his face as he scrambled away from Knoller.

Knoller grabbed the back of Little My’s smock near her neck and tried to yank her off of him, but she held on tight.

It took a bunch of tries, but he finally managed to jerk her up. She yelled angrily, trying to reach around to where he’d grabbed her. All she could really do was flail around a bit.

Knoller stared a minute, holding her at arm's length as she struggled to escape. Then he relaxed a bit and chuckled.

“Wow. All that trouble and this is all we had to do?” He shook her just a little. 

Snufkin was in a corner, still hyperventilating, horrified at the sight in front of him.

“Put me down _right_ now before I beat the crap out of you!” Little My yelled lividly, face red again.

“Making threats around here is my job sweetie,” Knoller held her up a bit higher, smirking and putting his other paw on his hip. 

“Don’t you _dare_ call me that-”

Knoller ignored her, turning to the guards with an amused expression. “Doesn’t Lakeworth have a birdcage somewhere? I think the other cage’s bars are spaced out just a _little_ too big for her. You’re such a tiny creature aren’t you,” Knoller turned back to peer at Little My.

She was grunting furiously, trying to reach his paw.

One of the guards left to find a birdcage.

……… 

Knollermaiden felt her heart beating loudly in her chest. 

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were staring back at her from the inside of a large cage on the back wall, confused and incredulous.

She did it. She _found them_ , oh gosh, she actually _found them!_ She had to tell someone, oh gosh-

“Knollermaiden?” Snorkmaiden said quietly, sounding just as incredulous and confused as she looked.

Knollermaiden glanced back anxiously. What was she supposed to say? She had to leave quickly. She couldn’t get caught and she had to tell the others.

“Police are coming. Don’t tell anyone I was here,” Knollermaiden said quickly, voice kind of high and squeaky from excitement and apprehension and nerves. 

There was a bit of a bang from the other room like something was knocked over. Knollermaiden jumped from the sound.

The sounds of fighting in Knoller’s office got a bit louder.

“I gotta go,” Knollermaiden blubbered anxiously, hurrying out and shutting the door before Snorkmaiden or Moomintroll could get another word in.

Knollermaiden rushed downstairs. How was she supposed to find anyone to tell them? They were all hiding, and she couldn’t leave the grounds.

The best place she could think of to look was the gardens. She’d seen Quinn and Jenny there a few times.

She searched around quickly, trying not to look too frantic or nervous but having a hard time.

It seemed her obvious searching had gotten Jenny’s attention because she found Knollermaiden before Knollermaiden found her.

Jenny grabbed Knollermaiden’s hand and pulled her behind a bush that kept them somewhat hidden from any passing guards.

Quinn was inside the bush, tensed up and staring at them with his brows creased. 

“What is it?” Jenny whispered seriously.

Knollermaiden was almost vibrating. “I found them,” she breathed, eyes wide.

Jenny gasped.

“ _Where?_ ” She demanded, tensed up.

“Near Knoller’s room, right in between his bedroom and his office. It’s always been guarded so we couldn’t check there before, but today they were distracted and I peeked in,” Knollermaiden said, voice very high.

Jenny prompted out all the details, of where exactly Knoller’s room was, and how Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden seemed to be fairing, how many guards there were, everything.

Jenny and Quinn almost immediately took off to get back to the camp and tell everyone. Who knows? Maybe the cops had arrived by then, they might do a break out that very _day_. 

There was no time to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author thoughts before I even wrote the bit where Joxter finds Snufkin:
> 
> Wait a minute. . . Both Joxter and Little My are kind of reckless and emotionally driven. It would make way too much sense for one of them to see Knoller hurting Snufkin just a tiny bit and for one of them to get enraged and burst out of hiding to defend him. . . Oh crap, one of them is going to get caught, aren't they? Oh man, oh boy, oh gosh, this isn't the best. . . What to do. . . Oh man. . .
> 
> (Starting to write "What's a father to do?")
> 
> Oh man, but I don't want Joxter to get caught! What to do. . . .  
> I suppose I'll make the hallway empty when he spots him. . That will help. . . Hmmrrrmmmm. . . . Wait. Does that mean Little My is going to get caught? O.O
> 
> (Continues writing)
> 
> Oh boy. Ok. It just makes too much sense. Why. Sorry Little My. I'll try to give you some dignity.


	16. Cavalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The police arrive and things start moving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back with another chapter. I'm still having trouble with the last one.
> 
> Amelia's been bugging me about posting late, heh. 
> 
> Hope you like it! 
> 
> You know something cool? I got a concert ukulele and it came _early!_ It came today and I'm excited! It's constantly going out of tune right now and my fingers hurt, but I'm happy!
> 
> Anyway, here's the chapter.

Moomintroll glanced at Snorkmaiden beside him, then back at the door, his mouth hanging open.

There still hadn’t been any opportunities to escape over the weeks they’d now spent in this new cage. The two of them had almost started to give up hope that anyone would find them before hibernation. 

“Police?” Snorkmaiden whispered, eyes wide, standing up.

“Oh gosh,” Moomintroll murmured, feeling like a balloon was being inflated in his chest. 

Help was coming. 

Soon Moomintroll was on his feet as well, grabbing the bars at the front of their cage and staring at the closed door Knollermaiden had left from just a minute ago.

“She did it, she must have,” Snorkmaiden breathed, grabbing Moomintroll’s hand for support.

Moomintroll laughed quietly, but airily. Things were finally starting to turn around.

Over the weeks, Snufkin had mentioned a few times he’d spotted Knollermaiden around while he was fetching things. In turn, Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden had told him about what happened when Knollermaiden had been stuck in a cage with them.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden had both been worried about what Knoller had been telling his niece. 

After all, Knoller had literally revealed that he was willing to “train” his own family into doing what he wants. They had no idea how, or what he was going to convince her of. Maybe she was a lost cause.

But she wasn’t. They knew now at least.

“We’re going to be ready,” Moomintroll said, hardening his gaze and squeezing Snorkmaiden’s hand a little.

“You said it,” Snorkmaiden breathed a sigh of relief. “I _really_ hope it’s soon. . .”

Moomintroll nodded absently. 

All they could do was wait.

……… 

Knoller was carrying Little My, still by the back of her smock, through the house. Apparently the birdcage they had was fixed to the floor and couldn’t be moved. 

Snufkin was covering his nose and mouth with his hands, trailing far behind like he’d been told, completely and utterly horrified that another friend had been caught.

Around them were the guards who’d assisted with the capture.

Little My was still struggling in the hold, yelling frustratedly and grunting and threatening Knoller.

She was making quite the rucas and drawing much attention.

They got to a room with a fancy birdcage in the corner with parrot feathers in the bottom. It looked like it had been used not too long ago, but was currently empty.

Knoller had to wait for someone to go find a padlock since the regular lock was one that anyone with opposable thumbs could open.

Then he flung her inside the cage and slammed it shut, quickly locking it.

“There. That should hold you, at least until proper arrangements can be made,” Knoller dusted off his hands.

“You just wait till I get out of here!” Little My yelled furiously, slamming into the door and tugging on the bars, rattling the cage a bunch.

One guard was already covering his ears annoyedly at the noise she was making and had been making the entire way here. Everyone was getting rather annoyed.

……… 

Jenny was out of breath by the time she got back to camp. She turned the corner and found Moominpappa talking with a huge force of policemen.

She could have whooped for joy at the sight. Quinn did a loop in the air.

Jenny stumbled over to Moominpappa, catching everyone’s attention.

“We found them, Knollermaiden found them,” She yelled ecstatically, panting for air. “Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll. They’re in a cage in the room in between Knoller’s bedroom and his office. Second floor, hallway on the left.”

There was great commotion around as everyone took that in and police officers were talking and asking her questions and Moominpappa had to explain who she and Quinn were and how they were helping.

There was a buzz in the air. There was little time to waste.

……… 

Knollermaiden had waited around in the garden for a while. She was keeping an eye out to see if she could spot anyone coming. After all, what if the police already arrived?

She was almost vibrating. Maybe she was being a bit too suspicious, but she could hardly keep it in. Everything had been leading up to this.

Eventually, she got too worried about the garden guards watching her with raised eyebrows, and she went inside. 

She wasn’t sure where to go. She paced anxiously in front of the back door for a minute. 

She thought about going to her room.

A little while later, she heard something.

Was that Little My yelling?

Knollermaiden blanched. That couldn’t be good. If she was yelling then she’d been seen. And that meant she could be caught. 

That realization brought more nerves slamming into her abruptly.

Soon she was racing through the house towards the noise, but she got lost a few times, not entirely sure where it was coming from.

……… 

Joxter was growling in impatience. He was in a closet again, hiding from a guard who was lollygagging around right outside.

Joxter felt like he was about to snap. Situations exactly like this had happened way too many times over the past week, and his patience was a thin line nowadays, easily broken. He knew the police could be back at camp by now. Today could be the day.

That knowledge at least helped. It kept him from losing it completely and jumping out of hiding, it kept him from attacking people.

That was, until he heard Little My yelling.

His body went rigid, his eyes wide, realizing what might have happened.

She couldn’t get caught. No way. Impossible.

His tail thrashed about, thumping into stuff, clenching his paws as he listened.

She was yelling angrily about someone unhanding her.

That did it.

Joxter burst out at the guard outside. He would have to fight him off first, though the yelling was calling more guards to them unfortunately, but he wasn’t going to sit around when Little My was in trouble. 

No way was he losing anyone else.

……… 

Gib was up on the roof, staring out at the fields, rather bored.

There was a small, flat balcony on the top of the house, but he was sitting precariously on a roof slope.

Gib sighed, grumbling to himself. 

Everything was turning out so weird lately. 

He was getting lost in musings when he spotted something on the horizon. He narrowed his eyes, mouth slightly open.

A minute later he was gasping.

That was a lot of police.

He had to go tell someone. Just great.

Gib climbed back to the balcony and rushed inside, down the long, rickety ladder. It really was an _old_ ladder. Needed to be replaced soon. Felt like it could give way right from under someone any day now.

Gib didn’t bother thinking about that, too busy trying to think of who to tell first.

……… 

“You better get her to shut up,” Knoller grumbled at Snufkin.

“You idiot! He can’t, I won’t listen to _any_ of you so you better get used to this or let me out,” Little My yelled at the top of her lungs, rattling the cage again and kicking it hard.

Knoller shoved Snufkin right up to the cage again anyway.

“You know, I don’t think I really _need_ any more alive prisoners,” Knoller glared. “So if this doesn’t pan out I’m grabbing the poker.”

Snufkin looked even more horrified, glancing between Knoller and Little My. Little My only faltered for a minute before she was back at her angry, banshee yelling.

Snufkin could barely get his voice to work. It was a wonder she could hear him at all.

“I can’t stop him,” he sounded even more terrified than he looked. “ _Please_ don’t make him- I _can’t_ -” Snufkin covered his face a bit, shoulders shaking, sounding desperate, tears frustratedly leaking out.

“Let him try!” Little My yelled lividly, balling her fists.

“Little My-”

“Fine then,” Knoller glared impatiently, muttering a bad word at her and stalking off out the door.

“No!” Snufkin freaked, darting after him, gasping. One of the guards grabbed his arm, but he jerked himself away frantically, hurting his arm but not noticing, running outside and grabbing the hem of Knoller’s coat to stop him.

“You can’t hurt her, you _can’t_ ,” He yelled frantically as Knoller continued down the hallway.

Snufkin dug his heels into the ground, straining and pulling in a way he’d never dared before, but this was his sister’s _life_ on the line

Knoller growled at him, sending a spike of terror up Snufkin’s spine, but he didn’t let go.

“Bug off,” Knoller snapped, snatching and yanking one of Snufkin’s arms up, jerking him off, and throwing him at the wall.

Snufkin gasped sharply, holding in a pained cry since previous injuries were hit, but he picked himself up as quick as he could, scrambling after Knoller as he continued down the hall and guards started following them out and catching up.

Snufkin desperately ran in front of Knoller and rammed into him, trying to hold him back, pushing with all his might, yelling frantically for him to stop, that he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t hurt her!

Knoller only got angrier.

“You’re out of line,” He growled loudly, roughly shoving Snufkin aside again. Snufkin just grabbed his arm, breathing raggedly, pulling with all his might.

Knoller nearly yelled in his frustration, jerking his arm forward and making Snufkin stumble, but Snufkin didn’t let go. He even dug his claws in to keep on, pulling even harder, tears in his eyes.

Knoller punched him in the stomach and Snufkin cried out.

Knoller grabbed Snufkin’s arm again and twisted him around, throwing him in front of him with enough force that Snufkin rolled as he landed, yelling a bit from the shock as well as the rough landing, hitting his shoulder especially painfully.

He was on his stomach when he stopped rolling. Grimacing and breathing rather heavily, he tried to push himself back up, but a spike of pain ran down his shoulder when he put pressure on it and his arm collapsed from under him.

He was panicking massively, desperate to get back up again as his muscles shook and his brain went fuzzy from the overwhelmingness of it all. 

He panicked worse as Knoller’s heavy footfalls got closer and before he knew it Snufkin had the air knocked out of him and probably a worse bruise on his side where he’d been kicked.

A horrified gasp barely registered in his mind. Snufkin cracked his eyes open, not realizing he’d closed them, clutching his side and seeing Knollermaiden at the other end of the hall, having just found them.

Snufkin was still breathing heavily, every muscle trembling as he tried to get back to his feet before another kick came his way.

“Uncle, what are you _doing?!_ ” Knollermaiden’s voice rang in his ears as Snufkin made it to his knees.

“Go to your room, I don’t have time for this,” Knoller bellowed loudly, stalking closer.

“ _What?_ Uncle-”

Snufkin nearly fell over when he managed to stand. He barely registered how wet his face felt, grabbing at Knoller’s arm again and holding on tight, wrapping his own arm around it and tugging back frantically.

“You can’t-” he blubbered, a sob wracking through his body. “You _can’t_ kill her- No-”

Knoller looked more enraged, jerking him around, but Snufkin held on.

“Let go of me! That’s an order,” Knoller yelled furiously, while Knollermaiden looked horrified. 

The instinct Knoller had been building in Snufkin to just obey flared up, but Snufkin could barely think straight. He couldn’t let him kill her.

A guard reached them and tried to pry Snufkin’s grip off. Snufkin fought to hold on, doing whatever he could.

Knollermaiden hurried over and tugged on Knoller’s free arm, trembling and asking what was going on. 

Knoller just snapped at her really bad, jerking his arm away from her, but she kept grabbing it if only to keep him from hitting Snufkin again.

Someone grabbed Snufkin’s wrist where a bad bruise still was and Snufkin felt the flare of pain burn up his wrist, making it extremely difficult to keep the guard from yanking it away. 

Snufkin struggled and kicked as he was jerked off. He barely caught the hem of Knoller’s sleeve, clutching it desperately.

Knoller jerked his niece off of him and whirled around grabbing Snufkin’s wrist and squeezing hard, getting a pained cry out of Snufkin.

“I’ve warned you,” Knoller seethed, voice low. He yanked Snufkin away from the guard, holding his wrist up high. Snufkin could barely stand from the pain and lost his balance. He grabbed at his own sleeve, trying to pull himself up, breathing still ragged and fast.

“I’ve warned you time and time again what happens when you test me, when you test my patience,” Knoller glared lividly, his own breathing rather uneven.

“Uncle, stop it! You’re hurting him,” Knollermaiden cried desperately, grabbing his arm again. She gasped very sharply when he turned on her angrily.

“You Think I _Care?!_ ” He bellowed, jerking his arm away. In a fit of blind rage, he whirled Snufkin around and threw him at her.

Snufkin barely knew what had happened before he crashed into her and they both slammed into the ground, crying out and landing almost on top of each other. 

“He’s _Mine_ to hurt if I want!” Knoller yelled, face contorted from anger, stomping towards them.

Knollermaiden nearly shrieked at the sight, scrambling back a bit and grabbing Snufkin’s arm, tugging him back with her.

Snufkin winced terribly as she hadn’t known there was a bruise there too.

Knollermaiden scrambled to her feet, frantically pulling him up as well, both stumbling a little.

Snufkin felt his heart racing through all the shock, not resisting being pulled back as Knoller approached.

“I can’t- wait-” Snufkin breathed, mind reeling, remembering he was trying to hold him back, but his mind went blank and a painful wave of ice trembled through him when he saw how murderous Knoller looked at them.

“Knollermaiden, let go of him and go to your room, _Now_ ,” Knoller snarled menacingly, stalking closer.

Knollermaiden just retreated faster, breathing uneven, accidentally bumping into a side table and jumping badly, squealing with fright.

“Y-You’re going to hurt him,” Knollermaiden blubbered, voice very high, not even a question.

“That’s An Order!” Knoller bellowed, clenching his fists until his knuckles were white, banging one loudly on the wall in rage.

Knollermaiden nearly screamed again, breath catching in her throat. Her arms were shaking as she grabbed Snufkin’s arm a bit firmer, but not tighter, pulling them both back faster.

Snufkin didn’t know what to do. Part of him told him he had to obey. Another told him to protect Little My. A more primal side told him he had to run away as fast as possible if he was going to survive this at all.

Knoller’s face was red. 

Then Gib ran towards them, interrupting everything.

“Police! Police are here,” Gib said, running up to Knoller.

Knoller was shocked at first, rather frozen.

Snufkin heard Knollermaiden take a shaky, deep breath of relief, and whisper something to herself.

“Whole force. Big one,” Gib said shortly, panting just a little. It might have been the most Snufkin had ever heard him say at once.

A moment later Knoller got his wits about him again and his face contorted back into rage.

“Secure them,” Knoller barked at the guards, pointing at Knollermaiden and Snufkin.

Gib looked back at the pair, his brows creased when he saw how terrified Knollermaiden was.

The guards started advancing and Knollermaiden gasped sharply and panicky.

She took off running, pulling Snufkin along with her. 

Snufkin had no idea if this was the right choice, but he let her drag him along and ran with her, heart pounding, navigating the hallways as they were chased.

Knollermaiden ducked into the kitchen, startling a few servants and running straight through, Snufkin hot on her tail.

He realized she was trying to lose the guards through servant hallways.

They could hear the thundering footsteps behind them and yells to get around and cut them off through a different hallway.

Snufkin tugged Knollermaiden’s arm and pulled her a different way to avoid being cornered, panting heavily and going as fast as he could.

She followed and they kept going, circling around through a different door and getting out of sight of the guards.

They came to the crossroads in front of the stairs and saw guards down a different hall, (running in a totally different direction, but neither noticed) and Knollermaiden hurried up the stairs to avoid them.

They bolted through corridors, and Snufkin followed Knollermaiden to a guest room away from a lot of the other guards and followed her inside.

Knollermaiden shut the door behind them, gasping and pressing up against it.

Snufkin glanced around and saw a vanity and a small chest of drawers. He ran over and started dragging them over towards the door.

His arms were shaking really badly and he was still breathing rather heavily. His legs felt like they might give out on him any moment, but adrenaline kept him going right then.

Knollermaiden realized what he was doing and quickly came over to help, grabbing the other end.

Once the door was barricaded Snufkin took a few shaky steps over to the bed and sat on the floor next to it, still hyperventilating, growing pale as the weight of the situation fell down on him and he started processing.

His first thought was Little My still being down in that cage, Knoller possibly on his way to kill her, but he remembered the police. Gib said there were police there.

Snufkin felt dizzy and rather light-headed. He tried to take deep breaths, mind racing around too fast. He distantly noticed Knollermaiden had sat near him, a few feet away, looking just as worn out and terrified.

“Is. . . Are there really police here?” Snufkin breathed shakily, cradling his wrist where Knoller had squeezed it so hard, not sure why he thought she might have the answer.

“Yes, they are,” Knollermaiden said between deep breaths of her own, still trembling a little. She sounded so sure and so relieved.

“Did you see them?” Snufkin looked at her urgently, eyes wide. If a police force was here, Little My had a chance. Snorkmaiden, Moomintroll, all three of them had a chance if the police could only find them.

“No, but I helped bring them,” Knollermaiden said shakily.

Snufkin gaped at her incredulously, a strange, airy feeling filling his chest just thinking of them finding him, of this nightmare actually having a chance of ending.

“We just have to wait until they find Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden, and get my Uncle so he can’t hurt anyone anymore. We just have to hide a while, then I think we’ll be ok,” Knollermaiden sniffled but smiled a bit through it. “We’ll be ok.”

Snufkin was crying. Covering his mouth a bit and not even bothering to try and wipe the tears away. 

He’d barely let himself think of this nightmare ending. He really thought it might be the end, that he’d be stuck as something to be owned forever. That he’d never be free again. And that thought always terrified him worse than most of Knoller’s threats.

He’d barely let himself think it and now he was completely overwhelmed, imagining the wilderness, the mountains, the forests, imagining the chance to go back, imagining his friends safe and free back in Moominvalley, imagining every tiny thing he’s been missing for _so_ long now.

He was crying so bad now, barely keeping quiet to avoid drawing attention to them, body aching and completely worn out. The floodgates were open.

They had a chance. 

“. . . How do we know Knoller won’t get to them before the police do?” Snufkin said through the crying, voice cracking, the terrifying thought reaching his mind.

“I think they’ll be ok. I told Jenny where they were and she must have told the police,” Knollermaiden said, voice still quite high, but calming down.

“ _Jenny?_ She’s here too?” Snufkin was flabbergasted.

“Yeah. I found a bunch of your friends that week I left,” Knollermaiden said quietly, and kind of sheepish, seeming a bit calmer.

Snufkin remembered that especially horrible week when Knoller had been so angry the whole time. He was just even more flabbergasted now.

He also remembered Jenny up on the roof with Joxter in that city. Of course she would follow Joxter here. Why would Snufkin think otherwise?

Footsteps ran by outside the door and both of them froze instantly, holding their breath in panic.

A few more times people ran by.

Snufkin didn’t know if they were police or guards, or Knoller. He didn’t want to risk it.

“Maybe we should hide a bit better,” He whispered, trembling and getting to his feet.

Knollermaiden looked pale. She nodded and carefully got to her feet too, glancing around at their surroundings.

Snufkin spotted a closet.

He crept over, stepping lightly to make as little sound as possible. His heart thudded loudly in his ears, making him cringe.

The closet was pretty empty and big enough that they wouldn’t be too tightly squeezed together.

He was still grimacing, not liking the idea of being enclosed in a tight space. If they were found, there was no room to run. 

He jumped at the sound of Knoller’s voice outside, growling at a guard and frantically telling them to keep looking.

That sent a terrifying, icy shudder down his back and he quickly got inside the closet, shaking badly.

Knollermaiden stepped in behind him and they shut the door quietly. Knollermaiden leaned her back against the wall and slid down so she was sitting, huddling in and shivering like him.

Snufkin found himself doing the same.

They stayed there for quite a while, barely daring to make a sound.

A little while later they heard someone try to open the door outside.

Knollermaiden pressed her paws against her mouth, suppressing a squeal and shuddering. 

Snufkin pressed his back hard against the wall, trying to keep from hyperventilating, trying to stay quiet.

Whoever was outside was banging a bit trying to get through their barricade. It didn’t sound friendly. 

Snufkin covered his mouth too, breathing through his nose and tucking his knees closer to his chest.

Whoever it was got louder. He heard the furniture barricade scrape the floor just a tad.

……… 

Joxter was panting, holding his arm and staring at the half a dozen guards he’d had to incapacitate before going to find Little My. A minute ago he heard Snufkin yell too which only worsened his worry and made him more ruthless, but less careful around the guards. 

Joxter could hear more shouting throughout the building as police officers started storming in and guards and servants panicked and either started escaping or fighting. 

Joxter ran through the hallway, limping a little bit as he listened for Little My again. He occasionally heard more disgruntled, frustrated shouts from her, hurrying him along.

The police were a welcome sight when he occasionally spotted them. A lot of them were tied up with rounding up the guards though.

Joxter just focused on getting to Little My and finding Snufkin afterward. 

He made it to a hallway where she was much easier heard. He nearly ran right past the door but managed to narrow it down and find it.

He was ready for another attack as he opened the door, grimacing.

Inside it was immediately easy to spot Little My in the corner, stuck inside a big birdcage. There were no other guards inside.

“Joxter!” Little My yelled, surprised when she saw him. Joxter rushed inside over to the cage, grabbing and examining the lock.

“What the heck happened?!” Joxter said, tugging it and glancing around for a key.

“What does it look like?” Little My said angrily, but underneath he could hear her relief.

Joxter gave her a stern look, worn out from worry and tense from the earlier battle.

Little My crossed her arms, scowling. “You should have been there. I was right over Knoller’s office. Finally managed to reach the vent. It was infuriating watching him boss Snufkin around, but when he started hurting him I lost it,” she grumbled, kicking the cage hard.

Joxter stared at her, brows creased and aghast. He felt rage bubbling up in his chest just imagining Knoller hurting his son. Probably, it was a good thing he couldn’t fit through the vents or he might have gotten caught right along with her and Snufkin would never forgive him. He would have wasted his chance.

“I did manage to give him a beating. Not the full price for messing with our family, but it’s something. He should still have about a dozen bite marks around him,” Little My cackled a bit at the last bit, but it didn’t really help her mood. She was still furious and it showed.

“We’ll give him the rest soon,” Joxter growled, trying to think of what to do with the lock.

There was a side table nearby with a few drawers that he started ruffling through urgently.

“Knoller’s still got the key if that’s what you’re looking for,” Little My grumbled bitterly.

Joxter growled a bit to himself, inspecting the cage a minute.

He pulled at it and paced.

“Some bolt cutters might do the trick too. . .”

“Or maybe lock picks?”

“I’m rubbish with those,” Joxter muttered. He’d tried to learn how to use lock picks a few times in his life, thinking the skill would be useful, but he didn’t have the patience for it. He did know a bit though.

He glanced around at the door. He needed to find Snufkin too. He had to figure out what he’d been yelling about. Had to make sure he wasn’t in immediate trouble or danger.

Joxter’s paternal instincts were writhing around in his gut.

“I’m going to have to go find something to get you out of this. Whether it’s lock picks or bolt cutters, or if I find Knoller and get the key, I’ll find something. I’ll get you out, just hang in there,” Joxter said, hurrying to the door.

“Leave some of him for me to pound,” Little My said indignantly, punching her fist.

“I thought you already did,” Joxter was a little amused, though the dire situation kept him from actually chuckling.

“Not enough though. He needs a _proper_ pounding,” Little My growled.

“We’ll see. I’ll be back,” Joxter said as he left.

He hurried through the house and got hounded by a couple of officers. He tried explaining he wasn’t a guard or part of the house staff, but Moominpappa arrived just in time to really explain and get them off of his back.

“We need to get upstairs. That’s where they said Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden are being kept,” Moominpappa said, sounding more urgent than Joxter had ever heard him in his life.

Joxter ran ahead easily, coming up on the stairs and running to the left like they said.

It sounded like there were a lot of people, and a lot more guards on the right side, but they could be taken care of later. Joxter had to get the kids first and keep an eye out for stuff to help Little My too.

He found the hallway with Knoller’s rooms easily enough and pounced savagely at the guards that were still there. 

The battle was ruthless and quick, though not quite as quick as Joxter would have liked.

Moominpappa and the two officers caught up and helped finish them off and handcuff them.

Joxter started opening doors, not exactly sure which ones were the office or the bedroom, but he found the right door soon enough.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were at the front edge of their cage, looking like they may have heard some of the battle from in there.

“Pappa!” Moomintroll gasped when he spotted Moominpappa rushing in behind Joxter.

The two fathers rushed in while the police finished taking care of the guards outside.

“Son! Are you alright?” Moominpappa rushed to the cage, sounding ragged and weary but incredibly relieved. 

“I’m ok. We’re ok Pappa,” Moomintroll reached a paw through the bars to grab his Dad’s paw which Moominpappa took without hesitation.

“That’s the key there,” Snorkmaiden said urgently, pointed to a ring of keys nailed to the wall near the door.

Joxter grabbed it quickly and ran over.

It took a few tries to get the lock undone. He made frustrated noises as he tried a different key. There were only three there. He did take note that none of them could unlock Little My’s prison. All three were definitely too big.

“Have you found Snufkin?” Moomintroll asked urgently.

“Not yet, but rest assured finding him is our top priority once you two are safe,” Moominpappa said. “We’re getting you out of here.”

“I’m not leaving without him,” Moomintroll said stubbornly.

“ _We_ ’re not leaving without him you mean,” Snorkmaiden grabbed Moomintroll’s free hand, brow hardened in determination. “Not after everything we’ve seen. We’re making _certain_ he gets to safety.”

Moominpappa looked like he wanted to object, very concerned and worn out. Just then one of the policemen came in and rushed over. It seemed the other one was staying outside with the detained guards. That was also about the time Joxter finally got the lock open and swung open the door.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden rushed out and Moominpappa gave his son a proper hug. 

The officer was happy to have them out and wanted to rush them outside, over to the camp Moominpappa had made, but Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were arguing with him to stay.

The officer tried assuring them that the police would find their friend just fine, but Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden didn’t back down. Neither did the officer though. It just escalated.

Then they heard something that made them all jump and gasp. They could hear a fight, loud enough to hear from the other side of the house.

……… 

Snufkin sat as still as he could in the closet, trying not to hyperventilate, shuddering at each bang, each heavy push on the door outside. The barricade continued to creak and scrape on the floor as it was slowly, ever so slowly overcome.

Knollermaiden whimpered quietly beside him, pressing her paws harder over her mouth to quiet down. 

Snufkin felt his heart beating loudly in his chest. It was a sound he felt he heard far too often. It only made him more nervous. 

They heard Knoller’s voice outside. Couldn’t make out any words, but they heard his anger. 

Snufkin hated how close the walls pressed against him, but he didn’t want to be out in the open either. The air was getting stuffy though which only made it harder not to freak out.

The furniture scraped a bit farther. 

It scraped again, sliding in. They heard voices clearer now. Knoller had a few guards with him.

Snufkin heard more furniture sliding, and then footsteps. 

People were walking around in the room. He recognized Knoller’s heavy footfalls.

Snufkin’s pulse was racing faster than ever.

They could hear them looking around. 

His blood ran cold when he heard Knoller’s footsteps getting closer and closer to the closet.

They both jumped badly when the handle twisted.

Snufkin felt like a band of cold iron was constricting around his chest. He couldn’t breathe. Knoller stared down at them coldly. He had his thick gloves on and he was carrying a knife.

“There you are,” He said in a low voice. “I don’t want to hear a sound out of either of you. You’re coming with _Me._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: My mom took up lock picking once, so I have some grasp over how difficult it is. It does seem to me like something Joxter would try learning for its usefulness and then get annoyed and impatient at how difficult it is, but idk.
> 
> Hope you're having a good day! Remember to drink water.


	17. Crossing a Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise. Confrontations are had. Injuries are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again! Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it.
> 
> Also as a reminder, I guess, if you want to check out some of my own art for these characters you can look here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hJwUyEThVkr0G2CQeYHOzig2W1omBF31t54jcPs_hKM/edit?usp=sharing
> 
> Hope you're having a good day!

Snufkin tried to fight. He didn’t want to lose his chance. His friends could likely already be safe by now, so he fought desperately.

He made a lot of trouble in his panic and desperation, but Knoller and one of the guards teamed up on him while the remaining one held Knollermaiden back. They had the upper hand from the start.

For all his troubles, now Knoller slammed Snufkin face down against the bed and pressed his knee into his back, holding him down and pressing most of his body weight onto him.

Snufkin was breathing heavily, straining frantically against the hold as Knoller grabbed his wrist. 

There was blood on Snufkin’s claws. Knoller now had deep scratch marks on his arm above the gloves and now Knoller was determined to restrain him a bit before they went wherever they were going.

Snufkin didn’t have any leverage to get out. His lungs ached, his wrist throbbed and burned painfully, and Knoller’s knee pressed sharply against his back. His muscles shook as he strained against Knoller. He was hyperventilating and gasping in pain, gritting his teeth, vision a bit blurry, face wet.

Knoller was angry, but more of a cold, determined, focused angry than the hot, enraged furry he’d had earlier.

“Uncle- _stop_ ,” Knollermaiden said, on the brink of sobbing, pulling against the guard who was holding her back.

Gib had arrived, but he hadn’t helped with anything. He was standing by the door, tensed up, staring between Knollermaiden and Knoller a lot like he did back on that day at the shack when Knoller stuck his niece in the cage. Very uncertain and conflicted.

Snufkin was trying to use his free arm to push himself up, but it was shaking terribly and getting him nowhere. He gasped sharply and let out a pained cry when Knoller twisted his arm a bit, pulling it behind him.

Knoller snatched his other wrist right out from under him and pulled it back. Snufkin gasped again and had to turn his head to the side to keep the blanket from suffocating him. He pulled his arm and arched his back, trying to struggle free, but Knoller pressed his knee harder into it, getting another pained cry from him.

“Stop it! Uncle, you’re hurting him, _stop_ -” Knollermaiden cried frantically, straining against her guard.

“Shut it! Just shut up already,” Knoller growled at her. “He attacked me. This is what he gets.”

“You attacked _him!_ ” Knollermaiden cried indignantly, tears in her eyes.

“He ran away from me,” Knoller snarled, glaring at her. “And _you_ ran too. Neither of you were obeying and now you’ve gotten yourself in this huge mess.”

Snufkin was trying to pull his arms away, but he could barely move. Knoller squeezed his wrist harder to get him to stop struggling, getting a more pained, desperate cry. Knoller held Snufkin’s wrists together and grabbed a scarf from the other guard. He’d found it in the room.

Snufkin was breathing even harder, even more freaked out and panicked as Knoller started tightly tying his wrists together. His bruises were even more aggravated and pained. It filled his head and made it hard to do anything.

“Why is it that every time I think I’ve made progress with you, you _run away?_ Why is that Knollermaiden?” Knoller seethed, tugging the scarf tighter and glaring at his niece.

“Because you keep _hurting_ people,” Knollermaiden cried frustratedly. “You keep scaring me, you hurt Snufkin, you hurt Snorkmaiden, you hurt Moomintroll, you’ve hurt _me_ Uncle! You’ve _got_ to stop!” Her voice was desperate and pleading, Knoller just stared at her baffled.

“You’re still on about _them?_ ” Knoller was yelling angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you, they _hate_ you? I thought you learned your lesson, I’M the ONLY one left in this world who cares about you Knollermaiden-”

“Then act like it!” Knollermaiden yelled surprisingly angrily. It actually got Knoller to stare at her incredulously. Gib had his mouth open and he shut it, staring at her. The two guards seemed similarly surprised.

“You keep saying you care about me, that you’re doing this for my good, but you never explain how, or why it’s helping!” Knollermaiden sagged a little in the guard’s grip, getting very emotional and sobbing as the words tumbled out her mouth like they’d been trapped there far too long. “You just keep yelling at me, and scaring me, and hurting more people. I- I don’t care if everyone hates me,” she sobbed, angrily, taking those sharp, high breaths, tears streaming down her face. “That doesn’t mean this is right. That’s why I had to do something.”

The room was quiet for a minute besides her crying and Snufkin’s heavy, uneven breathing.

“Why you had to _do something?_ ” Knoller stared at her incredulously, brows creased, voice low and menacing.

Knollermaiden realized what had just tumbled out of her mouth. She looked a little shocked and very pale.

Knoller wrapped the scarf around Snufkin’s wrist one more time, tugging it and tying it extra tight, earning another gaspy, pained cry. He pulled Snufkin up and shoved him at the remaining guard before rounding on Knollermaiden again.

“What _did_ you do that week you were gone? Did _You_ call the police on us? Did You?” Knollermaiden growled, still incredulous like he didn’t want to believe it, but flexing his knuckles angrily.

Knollermaiden was quiet, looking like she just didn’t know what to say. A maybe escaped her lips like a small squeak. Snufkin saw terror run across her face, as she recoiled backward against the guard. Even the guard looked kind of uncertain and tense.

“You _Did?_ ” Snufkin could hear the rage and disbelief in Knoller’s voice. 

Even when it wasn’t directed at him it made Snufkin tremble terribly, ice rushing down his spine as he watched, derailed and distracted from trying to escape the guard holding him still.

“After everything I’ve done for you? You _Betray_ Me to _Them?!_ What were you thinking?!” Knoller shouted, enraged, raising his fist like he wanted to hit her.

Knollermaiden was scrambling back against the guard, getting nowhere, looking like she might scream.

In an instant, Gib was there, redirecting Knoller’s blow and glaring like Snufkin had never seen him before.

Knoller was shocked, almost stumbling. Gib shoved him away firmly.

“ _Gib?_ ” Knoller was flabbergasted, but quickly getting back his anger. He was sputtering a bit. “What? Are you betraying me too now?!” He hunched over, tensing his posture, clenching his fists, ready for a fight. “After everything we’ve done together? After everything I’ve shared? What the _Heck_ are you playing at?”

Gib hardened his gaze. “You know I don’t draw lines at things, but you’ve just crossed one,” Gib growled.

Knollermaiden was staring at Gib with her mouth hanging open. Just about everyone was.

“The _Heck?!_ Gib, you’ve been collecting people with me for _years_ ,” Knoller bellowed, outraged. “You’ve been by my side through all of this. How is this any different?”

“You lost me when you threatened the last person alive I’ve actually grown attached to,” Gib grumbled, his voice slow and small, like he really wasn’t accustomed to having to say this much to get his point across. “You’ve been losing me for months now. You’re never fun anymore. _You_ ’re the one who’s wanted, not me. I don’t have to stick around.”

Knoller was too shocked to immediately have something to say.

Gib turned around and pried the guard’s grip off of Knollermaiden.

“Aren’t you guys loyal to Lakeworth? _He_ ’s not worth your time,” Gib grumbled, gesturing almost casually at Knoller which only got Knoller even more enraged and sputtering. 

Knollermaiden still seemed to be in shock, barely moving. The guards glanced at each other, baffled. The one holding Snufkin loosened his grip, looking uncertain.

It was about then when all hell broke loose.

Snufkin stomped the guard's foot to get away just as Knoller leaped at Gib to start a fight.

Knollermaiden screamed a little, scrambling out of the way.

Snufkin jerked away from the guard and tripped into the bed, frantically trying to get back up while the guard started trying to grab him again, but only half-heartedly.

Knoller was ruthless, but Gib was pretty quick. Their fight wasn’t leaning in either direction really. 

Knollermaiden scrambled out of the way and Snufkin rolled over the bed to escape his guard, accidentally falling over the other side and nearly hitting his head badly, but he tucked it in and hit his shoulder instead. 

Unfortunately, that was the shoulder he hurt just earlier when Knoller threw him back in the hall, and he yelled out painfully, blindsided, feeling like he actually might black out for a minute from how sharp and throbbing the pain was.

Gib dodged around a punch and got around behind Knoller’s back, hitting him hard and quick. Knoller cried out, stepping forward, but whirled around, catching Gib by the scruff of his shirt and nearly giving him a punch in the nose, but Gib held his arms up to block it, grunting from the impact.

Knoller growled and punched him in the stomach instead. Gib grimaced, doubling over a bit, but recovering quick enough to kick Knoller hard in the groin. 

Each dodged and blocked blows, each got hit a few times. They circled around, and Knollermaiden kept having to scurry away to avoid them.

The two guards just stayed out of the way too, not caring to get involved and not caring to restrain the prisoners.

Knollermaiden squealed a bit as she was nearly cornered, but she slid across the wall, getting around towards the windows.

She rushed around towards the bed, scrambling across and helping Snufkin up.

Snufkin still felt very dazed, and his body had aches all over. He was exhausted from overexerting himself so long, but he had to keep going. They were still in danger.

His eyes darted around dazedly and he saw Gib and Knoller’s scuffle had gotten way too close to the door to escape out. They could be trapped until they moved.

Knoller had taken out his knife. He’d managed to shove Gib up against the door and Gib was holding Knoller’s wrist, straining to keep the knife away from his throat, grunting and glaring.

“Where did it all go so wrong?” Knoller growled. “We were great, you and I. A real _team_ ,” At that he put in an extra burst of force on the knife, trying to get it closer. It was shaking madly as they tussled with it.

Gib didn’t seem to care about answering. He already got his point across and took more words than usually necessary. He was just gritting his teeth.

“Do you really think you can suddenly grow a set of morals after everything we’ve done? After what you did before I found you? You’re sicker than me and you know it,” Knoller snarled, inching the knife closer and closer to Gib’s throat.

Knollermaiden was _massively_ freaking out, watching them fight like this.

Gib grunted and stomped hard on Knoller’s foot, earning a yell. Gib shoved the knife away and punched Knoller in the face.

Gib tried to grab the knife away and they tussled with it for a bit, swinging around away from the door, but still too near it.

Snufkin took shaky breaths, creeping around close to the wall the door was on, but not close enough to be in line of fire. Knollermaiden stayed near him, hyperventilating like she might be suffocating, sounding like she was about to cry, flinching horribly whenever someone landed a blow.

Snufkin was desperately hoping they’d move away from the door. That would be their chance.

Snufkin’s legs were shaking so badly. He really hoped he’d actually be able to run when the chance came. He was _so_ worn out. It just worsened his nerves.

Knoller was gaining the upper hand. Gib was panting. Knollermaiden looked even more terrified. 

Knoller glanced over at where Knollermaiden and Snufkin were huddling near the wall. He got a terrible look on his face that made Snufkin and Knollermaiden scramble backward in a panic.

In an instant, Knoller leaped over at them. Knollermaiden shrieked in fright, and Knoller snatched her arm. He grabbed Snufkin and slammed him against the wall. Snufkin cried out, nearly blacking out and collapsing on the ground. 

Knollermaiden was getting almost hysterical, frantically trying to pull away, but Knoller jerked his niece close, grabbed her, and held the knife to her neck. Knollermaiden shrieked a little, grabbing Knoller’s wrist and trying to push it away.

“You’d think after watching me train _him_ so long,” Knoller gave Snufkin an annoyed kick in the side, getting another pained gasp. “- You’d know what I’m willing to do when the wrong people mess up,” Knoller said menacingly.

Knollermaiden was hyperventilating worse through terrified crying, pushing against her uncle.

Gib was glaring even worse, posture low. He was holding his arm carefully and blood was clotting on a cut. His nose was bleeding and he was panting.

“ _You_ ’re sick,” Gib snarled lowly. 

Knoller opened his mouth to gloat, but Gib didn’t waste time leaping at him in furry.

Knoller twisted and caught him with a kick, completely ruining his momentum and nearly sending him sprawling. Knoller let go of Knollermaiden and punched Gib in the side of the head while he still had the air knocked out of him.

Gib collapsed, groaning and looking like he might black out.

“ _Gib!_ ” Knollermaiden cried, trying to rush over, but Knoller caught her arm and dragged her back. “No,- Gib, _please_ no,” She blubbered frantically, gasping and straining against her Uncle.

Snufkin couldn’t think straight, exhausted out of his mind and hurting all over, taking uneven, heavy breaths.

He gasped when Knoller grabbed the back of his smock and dragged him up. He writhed around weakly as Knoller picked him up, tucking him under his arm.

“If there wasn’t so little time to spare I wouldn’t be this merciful,” Knoller glared menacingly at Gib who still hadn’t managed to start getting up. “You’d be wise to never show your face to me again.”

Knollermaiden was sobbing trying to get away, trying to reach Gib, but Knoller’s grip was as unyielding as ever. He dragged her out the door, growling at her to shut up since she was still blubbering and crying to Gib.

She couldn’t stop crying and she tugged against him hysterically.

Knoller twisted her arm a bit and grabbed her tighter.

There was a ringing sound in Snufkin’s ears and it was hard to focus, but he could hear footsteps thundering towards them. He thought he might hear his dad’s voice. That made him gasp.

Knoller seemed angrier. He seemed to want to go to the stairs, but they could hear the voices and footsteps coming from that direction. Knoller growled and took them a different way.

……… 

Moomintroll was running, ignoring how his legs protested after weeks of only pacing around in a small cage and little use.

They’d heard Knollermaiden scream. They’d heard Knoller yelling angrily. They’d heard Snufkin’s pained shouts. They’d heard lots of muffled fighting.

Snorkmaiden was panting beside him. Joxter was ahead, but he was limping and not as fast as he usually was. Moominpappa and the police officer were barely keeping up behind them, yelling for them to wait and not run head first back into danger.

The officer stopped by the stairs, panting and resting his paws on his knees, yelling for backup.

Moomintroll heard Knollermaiden a bit clearer, crying and pleading with her uncle, saying something about Gib.

“Dad?” They heard Snufkin yell, sounding strained and scared and far ahead. A second later they heard a loud, pained gasp from him.

“Snufkin!” Joxter yelled, trying to put in a burst of speed

“ _Shut_ It, _both_ of you,” Knoller growled angrily, voice getting a bit farther away.

“Snufkin! Hang on,” Moomintroll yelled fearfully, panting and trying to go faster.

“Help!” Knollermaiden screamed, getting further away, sounding like she was straining to pull back. It sounded like furniture was being knocked over. A vase smashed.

“Dad!” Snufkin yelled again, more frantic, just making Knoller angrier.

Moomintroll and the others rounded a corner where a door was ajar, showing the damage and evidence of the fight inside. He gasped at the sight.

Gib was stumbling, clutching his head, standing up. 

Moominpappa stared at him, brows creased, yelling for the police to come quick.

Gib shook his head a bit, getting his wits about him, then glaring at the group in front. He ran over to the window, only stumbling a little, opening it and climbing out right as an officer got there.

Gib climbed on the side of the roof and Moomintroll lost sight of him.

Another cry from Knollermaiden brought them back to their senses and Moomintroll hurried after Joxter down the hallway. Gib wasn’t a priority. 

“Snufkin? Knollermaiden?” Snorkmaiden shouted urgently. “Where’d you go?”

They didn’t hear much, just very far away, very muffled crying. They found the smashed vase up ahead and an overturned side table.

“Hurry,” Moomintroll said worriedly, grabbing Snorkmaiden’s hand and pulling her along faster.

After running a ways farther and getting more frantic in their search, they turned a corner and found an old, rugged ladder leading up to the roof. They could just barely hear their friends outside against the blowing wind.

Joxter glanced back at them determinedly and hurried up the ladder, Moomintroll right on his tail and Snorkmaiden right behind.

The ladder creaked dangerously, bending like it might crack. It was clearly very old.

Just as Snorkmaiden made it up, Moominpappa arrived with the officer. They tried going up, but the ladder cracked and broke, sending the officer sprawling and tumbling.

Snorkmaiden gasped.

Moominpappa was trying to help him up, yelling for someone to find a long step ladder or something. The officer was ok, so Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden nervously looked around, finding a door that was now ajar as Joxter rushed out onto the roof balcony.

Moomintroll was quick to run after him, Snorkmaiden right behind.

They gasped at the sight in front of them, freezing on the spot.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll do it,” Knoller snarled, sounding almost deranged. He was holding Snufkin against his chest, holding a knife to his throat.

……… 

Snufkin could feel the wind beating across his face, whipping through his hair, chilling the tears rolling down his face as he gritted his teeth.

Why. 

Why did it always end up like this? How many times in his life now had he been pressed against Knoller’s chest, painfully tight, feet dangling above the ground, a hand or a knife, or something, threatening his life, or knocking him out?

Why was it that any time he had a shred of hope, it was ripped away by something like this? _Every_ time.

He closed his eyes tight, a lump building in his throat, unable to handle the expressions of horror and fear on his friends' faces. On his Dad’s face. He couldn’t watch.

Knollermaiden, he could hear just a step behind Knoller. She was barely containing her crying, unable to move from out behind her uncle for fear of getting Snufkin killed.

“Now,” Knoller growled. “One of you go tell your little police friends I have a list of demands. If you don’t comply, I _will_ slit his throat. I’ll kill him,” he snapped dangerously.

“No,” Moomintroll said in disbelief, sounding outraged and desperate. “ _No!_ You wouldn’t, you spent so much time-” 

“NO!” Knoller shouted angrily. “ _You_ listen boy, when I make up my mind about a threat, I go through with it, you hear me?!” He was outraged and yelling very loud in Snufkin’s ear, making him breathe in sharply and tremble worse. “I’m already losing everything. If I can’t have him, _No One Can_ ,” Knoller bellowed, pulling his arm tighter around Snufkin’s stomach, getting an audible grimace out of the boy.

Snufkin had to press the back of his head into Knoller’s shoulder to avoid the knife which was still pressed uncomfortably close. He could already barely feel the ice-cold metal right above the leather collar on his throat.

He could feel the scratchy fabric of Knoller’s coat. He could barely feel Knoller’s warm breath near the top of his head, to the side above his ear. He could just barely feel Knoller’s fast heartbeat against his back.

At this point, Snufkin didn’t doubt Knoller’s words. His heartbeat echoed loudly in his head, he was shaking worse than ever, tears streaming down his face.

He didn’t want to die.

A sharp, shaky, crying breath escaped. He gritted his teeth harder.

He _really_ didn’t want to die. He’d never really dwelt on the thought for long, but just thinking about it was terrifying. 

And yet, even if he did survive this, it felt absolutely hopeless. He would still be stuck with Knoller. A mad man who terrorized him and left him bruised and battered. He would find a different way to train him even without Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden to keep him in check. He could already imagine cages, and pain, and psychological tactics Knoller would use to break him further down until he was only a shell of what he used to be.

Snufkin didn’t want the police to give in. He didn’t want Knoller to escape with him.

He felt a sob building in his throat.

He realized he missed something Knoller had said.

“We can’t get them, the ladder broke,” Snorkmaiden was saying now, sounding like she was on her last nerve, not a _shred_ of calm left in her voice.

Snufkin felt a growl rumbling in Knoller’s chest against his back before he heard it. It sent a shudder down his body, and he took another sharp, shaky breath.

Knoller snapped something about not keeping him waiting and finding a different ladder or something. He shifted Snufkin just a tad and adjusted his grip on the knife more firmly, holding it just a smidgeon of an inch closer.

Snufkin was starting to hyperventilate again, feeling the metal starting to warm against his skin from his own body heat. It was a rather unsettling, distressing sensation. He couldn’t press his head any closer to Knoller’s shoulder to avoid it. All he could do was breathe and try desperately to hold in sobbing. His muscles were tense and so sore holding himself the way he was.

The wind blew by in big gusts that whipped at his hair. Snufkin could imagine being blown right off the side of the house, how they beat across his face. It was a gruesome image since the height looked to be one that would be fatal if one fell off. He was pretty sure there was even an iron garden fence down below one could get impaled on if one fell.

The balcony railing looked thin and was low enough to maybe trip over. It was rusty and old and clearly needed to be replaced like the rickety ladder.

Snufkin had missed more conversation. His friends sounded angry and distressed, and so worried. They must have put together how serious Knoller was about his threats too. They didn’t want to give him a reason to kill him.

He could hear in their voices they didn’t want to let him get away, but what else could they do?

Snufkin felt like his heart might be breaking. If he held in his sobs any longer, he was sure he’d choke and hurt terribly.

_Please,_ Please, _just don’t leave me, Dad, Moomintroll, -_

He could feel the knife even clearer as he shuddered and cried.

……… 

Knollermaiden was trying to be quiet. She really was.

She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what was going to happen. But their plan had gone horribly wrong and she was stuck, and Gib was hurt.

All she knew was that wherever Knoller planned on taking them, there would be more pain and hurt, and she was terrified.

And Gib was probably back downstairs. He could be knocked out. He had defended her and he lost. Knollermaiden was praying desperately that he’d be all right.

She was shivering in the cold, having to lean and brace against the wind which was whipping her hair about and it was getting in her face. Even when she held it back, the wind blew out strands that hindered her vision. She could still see Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, and the Joxter up ahead though, standing near the door that led to the ladder downstairs. They all looked so distressed, and worried, and angry, fur and hair whipping about as they braced against the wind.

The sky was very cloudy, but the sun occasionally poked out, very low in the sky and almost blinding when it did emerge for seconds at a time. 

She had to squint against it, partially using Knoller’s shadow to brace against it.

A sound reached her ears that startled her a bit. She wasn’t sure what it was. It was very quiet and hard to hear, especially above the wind. 

She turned her head around, gazing across the roof dazedly. Was someone else up here? Was it an animal?

She didn’t spot anything.

Knoller was arguing with Moomintroll and the others. It was getting rather tense

Knollermaiden gasped, freezing in shock when she finally spotted Gib carefully crawling up the roof towards them, to Knoller’s right.

He was a bit slower than usual, maybe still a little dazed from earlier, but he looked livid and stubborn and determined.

Knollermaiden pressed her paw tightly against her mouth to keep herself quiet, glancing between Knoller and Gib.

She heard Snufkin’s trembling, quiet, strained sobs. Her blood ran cold.

Gib might attack Knoller. She was very emotional about the chance she’d have to run and escape if that happened, but Knoller was still holding Snufkin at knifepoint. If she knew Gib, he probably wouldn’t care if Snufkin was killed in the crossfire.

Knollermaiden _had_ to do something. She couldn’t draw Knoller’s attention to Gib, and she couldn’t warn Gib to leave without doing exactly that. 

Knollermaiden was trembling madly, heart beating loudly, glancing around at everyone and shuffling closer to Knoller’s side.

She would have a better chance at this than the others. They couldn’t get any closer.

Her legs felt unbelievably weak and shaky. She was so terrified of what she was about to do, she thought she might throw up in a minute, or even faint. Snufkin might be about to die. If she messed this up he would _die_.

She glanced back at where Gib was, seeing him right at the edge of the roof, clearly tensed and maybe seconds from leaping out and attacking. Her heart rang in her ears, echoing so loud it was all she could hear, drowning out everything else into a dull ringing.

Knollermaiden waited for the sun to come out again.

The minute Knoller started squinting from the bright light, Knollermaiden’s hand shot up to grab the knife, tugging it from Snufkin’s neck just as Gib leaped.

Knoller’s grip was tight and she only managed to pull it a few inches from Snufkin’s neck while Knoller was surprised and distracted by Gib.

Knollermaiden heard overwhelmingly loud ringing in her ears and felt time slow down, hyperventilating, desperately tugging with all her might before everything crashed around her, Gib tackled Knoller, and they slammed into the hard ground, Snufkin was still in Knoller’s grasp, but the knife arched through the air.

There was a rush of movement, too fast for her to process as Snufkin was squished and crying out, Joxter dashed forward to help his son, Knollermaiden stumbled backward and collapsed, Snorkmaiden rushed over to catch her, and Moomintroll ran after Joxter.

Knollermaiden was hyperventilating. Snorkmaiden tried to get her to her feet.

Knoller was roaring with fury, fighting Gib off with one arm while his other was still wrapped around Snufkin. Gib was on top, going for Knoller’s throat to strangle him, accidentally kneeing Snufkin in the side, getting a gaspy cry.

Joxter dove in to shove Knoller off of Snufkin, getting tangled up with Gib in the process, while Moomintroll rushed and grabbed Snufkin under the shoulders, dragging him back as fast as he could  
There was a furious brawl on the ground as Knoller had to fight off both Joxter and Gib at once, but he was holding his own.

Knoller shoved Joxter off of him before rounding on Gib with a punch in the nose that broke it, nearly knocking Gib out and putting him out of commission.

Joxter was snarling dangerously, claws already out as Knoller rounded a punch at him. Joxter caught the punch in his paw and with his other paw, he swiped at Knoller’s face, leaving deep, angry, red scratches that made Knoller yell out.

Joxter was fast and ferocious, but Knoller grabbed Joxter wrist when he tried to scratch again, using all his force to twist and slam Joxter against the ground.

Joxter had the air knocked out of him and he barely blocked a punch to the face, pained from the impact anyway.

Knoller was snarling as he turned towards Moomintroll and Snufkin as Moomintroll tried to pull the scarf off of Snufkin’s wrists.

“He’s _Mine!_ Give it back,” Knoller nearly screamed, rushing at them. The boys panicked, trying to scramble backward, but Joxter grabbed Knoller’s foot, causing him to trip, but then Knoller snagged Snufkin’s foot, causing Snufkin to cry out in alarm

Moomintroll was frantically pulling, his arms under Snufkin’s shoulders, while Snufkin was kicking with his other foot, white-faced and breathing heavily again.

Knoller’s grip was painfully tight and unyielding as always, biting into the leather of Snufkin’s boots and pinching badly. 

Knoller kicked Joxter’s hand and Joxter grunted painedly from the impact, gritting his teeth and gripping harder with both paws, claws dug into Knoller’s boots, growling deep in his chest.

Knoller jerked Snufkin’s foot, getting Moomintroll off balance, then twisted and rolled over, sending Moomintroll and Snufkin tumbling, and disorienting Joxter.

Knoller kicked Joxter in the face and got up, tugging Snufkin away from Moomintroll before he could recover from falling.

Snufkin was freaking out and yelling as he was dragged away by his foot, but his paw came free of the scarf after Moomintroll loosened it, and he managed to reach out and grab Joxter’s paw.

Joxter couldn’t get up without letting go, plus his nose was bleeding and his eyes were watering badly from being struck so he was stuck on the ground, holding onto Snufkin’s paw and trying not to slide while Knoller yelled angrily and jerked to get him away.

Gib was near, still reeling and recovering from his broken nose and other injuries, but he saw an opportunity to trip Knoller when he jerked backward and took it.

Knoller was caught off guard and stumbled backward, tripping into the rusty railing. It bent and broke under his weight, sending him tumbling down the steep incline with a yell.

Snufkin was jerked too suddenly out of Joxter’s paw, yelling as he was dragged out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that wasn't too evil or anything, he, he. . .


	18. I Can't Help You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I should have posted sooner since I got it done sooner, but life happened and I'm getting _really_ excited about this other project I'm starting! It's going to be a big one. Not a story, (well, sort of a story) but a video. 
> 
> Also by the way, if you're on tiktok you can follow me if you want, idk. I've been a little more active on there lately. Soon I'm going to do a speedraw of Knollermaiden, and I'm planning on doing some writing advice videos on it too. Right now a majority of my videos are cover songs, and there's art, and there are experimental animations, and I might do a baking one, and I did one introducing creatures (stuffed animals and birds) that live in my room. . . As you can see, sometimes I have a hard time sticking to one thing.
> 
> My username on there is deborah.jean

Snufkin felt the ground rush by way too fast as a chorus of frantic voices yelled his name.

His paw grabbed a piece of the broken railing and tightened around it, bringing them to a jerking halt that tore through his body, eliciting a yell. 

The rusty railing bent and creaked terribly under his and Knoller’s combined weight.

Snufkin’s muscles were strained and sore enough already, and he couldn’t pull himself up. He could only hold on as tight as he could, with sweaty palms, white, trembling knuckles, weakly kicking with his free foot, scraping against the tiles and trying to find purchase on the incline or kicking Knoller’s paw to get him to let go.

Snufkin was hyperventilating. Knoller was trying to pull himself up and find purchase as well. 

“Snufkin!” Moomintroll’s head popped into view above, looking frantic and alarmed. 

“Moomintroll-” Snufkin breathed, barely able to get the word out through his hyperventilating. His arms were shaking as he tried to pull up and summon the strength to climb, but it was futile. He could barely move.

Knoller shifted below, grabbing a little higher up on Snufkin’s leg, trying to pull himself up and sending a jolt of panic through Snufkin.

The rusty railing bent a bit, sliding them down further too quickly and making Snufkin yell out in alarm.

There was frantic chatter up above as Moomintroll convinced Joxter and Snorkmaiden to help lower him down to reach them.

Snufkin was light-headed, feeling his sweaty palms sliding a bit on the part of the rail he’d managed to grab.

Knoller was shifting more below, growling and grunting, trying to climb up, but he was injured from two different fights. His face was still bleeding from when Joxter scratched him.

Moomintroll was laying down, with Joxter and Snorkmaiden holding each of his legs. They carefully lowered him down the roof and Moomintroll held his arms out, trying to reach Snufkin.

Snufkin’s arms were aching so bad, and he nearly slipped, quickly grabbing up higher and tighter on the railing.

Knoller growled and grabbed a bit higher on Snufkin’s leg, getting close to his knee. Snufkin was gasping in alarm between panicked breaths, trying to kick him off and grimacing in pain from the strain on his body.

The shifted weight caused the railing to bend a bit more, sliding them down a couple inches farther and making Snufkin yell in alarm again and nearly lose his grip completely.

The wind blew the ends of his hair in his face, beating on his side. Moomintroll could nearly reach him.

The railing creaked more, threatening to give way entirely.

“Hurry! A bit lower,” Moomintroll yelled to Joxter and Snorkmaiden, freaking out.

“Moomintroll,” Snufkin cried desperately, voice cracking, arms trembling even worse, feeling his paws slipping again. He gritted his teeth, feeling a repressed sob wracking his body. Knoller growled more below, sending ice trembling down his back.

“Just a bit more,” Moomintroll said in a strained voice, inches from grabbing Snufkin’s paw.

The rail creaked again and Snufkin could almost feel the exact spot that was about to break. It sent a jolt of terror through Snufkin and he reached out one paw towards Moomintroll, brushing his finger tips.

The railing creaked even louder this time, sliding barely an inch before cracking entirely just as Moomintroll managed to grab Snufkin’s paw.

“I’ve got you,” Moomintroll said, adjusting his grip more firmly. “It’s ok, I’ve got you.”

Knoller was grunting again, trying to climb up higher on Snufkin’s leg and sending another bolt of panic up the boy.

Joxter and Snorkmaiden were panting and straining to pull them up. Gib was watching, eyeing Knoller darkly and tensing up. He was breathing heavily through his mouth, wiping blood off of his face and favoring one leg over the other.

The snapped piece of railing fell, clattering down the roof and Snufkin held on to Moomintroll as tight as he could.

Joxter and Snorkmaiden had to go slow. Snufkin slid up the roof, inch by precious inch, trying to keep hold of Moomintroll but feeling his grip slipping a bit.

Knollermaiden came into view, looking rather stunned and pale and shaky like she might pass out, covering her mouth with her paw. 

“Knollermaiden!” Knoller bellowed commandingly. “Help me up!”

She stared down rather blankly, trembling and glancing around. She didn’t move.

Gib grabbed her arm near the shoulder to steady her.

“You think you can order her around after how you’ve treated her?” Gib yelled as loud as a guy who barely used his voice could, which wasn’t that loud, but still very mad sounding. “Face it. You failed. You’ve lost _everything_. Just fall already!”

Snufkin slid up further and Moomintroll grabbed him a bit better just as they nearly slipped. Both of them were breathing rather heavily.

Snufkin felt Knoller climb up him a few inches higher, worsening his freak out. He tried kicking at Knoller again, but it was awkward and he couldn’t put too much force into it, plus it made it harder to keep hold of Moomintroll.

“I’m your family Knollermaiden! I’ve given you everything,” Knoller shouted angrily.

Gib was growling, but he’d already said what he wanted. Why repeat himself?

Knollermaiden opened her mouth then shut it again. She was trembling badly.

“You’ve. . You’ve terrified me for months now,” she cried, stepping back and taking a shaky breath. “You’ve lied to me for years and you won’t stop hurting people, you _never_ stop,” she sobbed. “I can’t help you.”

Knoller stared at her in disbelief. “I’ve cared for you for years! I’m all you have left-”

“Oh shut it already!” Snorkmaiden yelled angrily at him, straining to keep hold of Moomintroll’s leg and pull him up. “Stop pretending you give even a little bit of a crap about her. She’s just another tool to you, so, SHUT UP!”

Moomintroll was gritting his teeth, gripping Snufkin tighter as Knoller continued trying to climb up. Knoller grabbed onto Snufkin’s smock, panting. 

Snufkin could reach the edge of the balcony now, though he didn’t let go of Moomintroll’s hand. They pulled him up till his top half leaned over the edge and he was relatively steady, then Joxter let go and leaned over to get Knoller to let go.

Joxter was eyeing him lividly, claws out, prying at Knoller’s paw, digging his claws in and getting Knoller to yell out.

“No!” Knoller growled, sounding deranged, trying to bat him away, but slipping down. “Knollermaiden! Snufkin! Get him to stop, _Pull Me Up!_ ” He commanded, nearly screaming.

“ _No!_ ” Snufkin managed to yell through his heavy breathing, managing one really good kick on Knoller’s arm.

“That’s an order!” Knoller screeched, slipping. Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden pulled Snufkin further up over the ledge.

Knoller grabbed on to the edge of the balcony as they pulled up, but Joxter stood over him. 

You could see the exact moment Knoller realized what was about to happen and his eyes widened in actual panic.

“You never should have messed with my son,” Joxter snarled menacingly right before he slammed a stomp down on Knoller’s paw with all of his body weight. 

Knoller yelled loudly as he fell, sliding down the roof, unable to find purchase before he fell right over the edge.

The wind muffled his voice as he fell, down, down, down. 

They couldn’t hear when he landed

……… 

Moomintroll helped Snufkin sit up and Snufkin grabbed him tight in a hug, burying his face in Moomintroll’s shoulder, trembling and starting to sob.

Moomintroll hugged him back, scooting a bit farther from the edge of the balcony as Gib crept forward, peering down.

Gib was careful and clearly had been climbing roofs for ages, skillfully climbing down like a squirrel. He reached the edge of the roof and peered down. He wrinkled his face in disgust at the first sight.

He stared for a bit, huffing. He looked grimly satisfied and very tired and annoyed. 

“Dead,” Gib called out at them, certain and determined.

Moomintroll’s eyes widened.

Joxter shook his head a little. “Sorry, Little My. You didn’t get to pound him one last time. But rest assured, where he’s going he’ll get what’s coming to him,” he said under his breath.

Moomintroll felt a lot of things in that moment, overwhelming relief being the most prominent, but he was more focused on his best friend, who was clutching him tight like he never wanted to let go, and still shaking very badly

“Is he-. . Is he really,” Snufkin croaked quietly into Moomintroll’s fur, paws shaking and clutching it tight.

“From that fall? Definitely,” Joxter murmured, approaching carefully and trying not to startle Snufkin. He rubbed Snufkin’s back, muscles sagging in exhaustion and relief. “Hold still a minute, it’s just me and I’m going to take this off,” he said quietly, reaching towards Snufkin’s collar and gently grabbing it without pulling.

Moomintroll felt Snufkin tense and freeze up, taking a shaky breath and clutching Moomintroll tighter.

Joxter unsnapped it and slipped it off, tossing it aside and hugging them.

Moomintroll breathed deeply, shuddering a little and trying to brush off all of the nerves and shakiness from what just happened. He felt Snufkin crying on his shoulder. He felt sobs wrack through Snufkin’s body. Moomintroll felt his own emotion pooling up inside of him, threatening to spill out.

Joxter seemed rather choked up too, rubbing Snufkin’s back more.

Snorkmaiden joined in too, a little hesitant at first but then melting into the group hug.

Moomintroll noticed Knollermaiden standing by the edge of the balcony, cupping her paws over her mouth, silent tears running down her face, looking shocked and overwhelmed.

Gib disappeared through a window after giving Knollermaiden a serious look and a nod. Knollermaiden looked very choked up and a little surprised.

She glanced over at Moomintroll and the others. She stared out at the roof for a minute in silence and then slowly like a snail, sat down, hugging her knees tight, staring blankly over the edge of the balcony.

Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden shared a look.

Snorkmaiden untangled herself from the hug and went and sat next to Knollermaiden.

“That was a very brave thing you did,” Snorkmaiden said softly. Knollermaiden looked a little startled and it snapped her a little out of her funk.

“. . . Brave?” She whispered like she hardly knew the word. “. . . I didn’t feel very brave. I’ve never been brave,” she seemed almost distraught.

“Are you kidding?” Snorkmaiden said lightly. “You were _so_ brave. You saved his life,” Snorkmaiden said, gesturing with a look at Snufkin.

Moomintroll could feel Snufkin still a little, probably able to hear every word as well.

“You were brave coming back to help in the first place too,” Joxter joined in, not letting go of Snufkin, but turning his head towards Knollermaiden. “You didn’t have to, you already told us where they were. But you did, and you helped us save them. You’re much braver than you think.”

Knollermaiden looked flabbergasted. It seemed to distract her from the heaviness of everything that had just happened.

There was silence for a little while as she processed that. 

Everyone was quiet for a while.

“. . . Where am I going to go now?” Knollermaiden whispered, sounding very distraught and alarmed. “If Uncle is really gone,” she shuddered and couldn’t seem to go on. She hugged herself, sobbing a little. “He,- he was the only family I have left. What am I going to do?” she said quietly, between sharp breaths and crying.

“You could stay with us for a while,” Snorkmaiden said a bit slowly.

“Wha- really?” Knollermaiden cried, sounding genuinely surprised and incredibly emotional.

“Sure. It’s the least we could do after you helped us,” Snorkmaiden said softly.

“I-. . I thought you-” Knollermaiden seemed to be having trouble expressing what she was thinking, still crying. She blubbered a minute, mind whirling. “I thought you didn’t want me around?” Her voice was very high and strained and you could barely hear it, how quiet it was.

Snorkmaiden didn’t seem to know what to say to that at first. “. . Back then I certainly didn’t,” she started, very serious, but calm. “But I’ve seen a lot more sides of you now. Knoller was definitely to blame for a lot of your ignorance, and you’ve really done a lot to help us.” 

Snorkmaiden seemed to ponder something. She was a little indecisive at first, but she made up her mind. “I’m ok with starting over if you are,” she said giving Knollermaiden a tired, but relieved look.

Knollermaiden looked rather light-headed and overwhelmed. Soon enough she was really sobbing, but in an airier way than before. 

Snorkmaiden offered a hug and Knollermaiden melted a bit, hiccupping, and sobbing, and gasping, and shaking, but you could hear the catharsis.

Snorkmaiden helped her up and they rejoined the others, group hugging again, most of them crying, and just so incredibly relieved after everything, tension melting away to be replaced with exhaustion, sometimes chuckling and laughing. 

Moomintroll was in the thick of it, beaming and laughing, holding his best friend close.

His ear twitched and he heard sounds coming from the door that led to the hatch that went downstairs, which was still ajar.

The people around shifted, hearing it too, and Moomintroll turned his head to see a panting policeman climb up the side of the hatch. It seemed they finally found a way up.

The policeman was still panting, stumbling towards them a bit slowly as another policeman followed him up, Moominpappa appearing behind right after.

Moominpappa looked incredibly stressed out and frazzled, but very relieved to see them all relatively ok.

He and the officers scolded the group a bit for running ahead and putting themselves in unthinkable danger, but mostly they were too relieved to be very mad.

They were all ushered down the step ladder and through the house.

Snufkin never made a move to let go of Moomintroll, so Moomintroll didn’t let go of him either, just carrying him down.

Snufkin still trembled some, still cried, but it was another cry where you could hear the relief and catharsis in it so it didn’t worry Moomintroll too much. They’d all been through so much already, Snufkin worst of all.

They walked through the hallways, down the stairs, towards the front doors. There were still people running around and lots of activity in the building, but it didn’t sound like there was any more real fighting.

Joxter had picked up Snufkin’s discarded collar, saying it would be nice to burn it. He also ended up going outside to find Knoller’s body and get the key to get Little My. Moomintroll had no idea about that whole situation and was baffled and concerned by it, but it seemed it was swiftly being taken care of so there wasn’t any trouble.

The police didn’t let the rest of them out of their sight, swiftly escorting them outside towards the camp Moominpappa had set up in the forest.

Snufkin was calming down and not trembling so much, relaxing a little bit, though he still took some sharp, shaky breaths. 

Moomintroll had never been able to hug him this long before. He’d only carried him once or twice before in his life, so he was kind of amazed at this, and somewhat somber. 

They walked away from the mansion and entered the forest, going off of the path to reach the camp further in, hidden from wandering eyes.

Jenny and Quinn were the first to come out and meet them. They’d heard them approaching and decided to see who it was and make sure no unfriendly people found the camp.

“Snufkin!” Jenny gasped when she spotted them, rushing forwards to meet them. 

Snufkin turned his head to see her, managing a sort of shy smile.

They both seemed plenty pleased to see each other ok, but there was a certain awkwardness that hung in the air as neither seemed to know what to say.

“I’m. . I’m really glad you’re ok,” Jenny finally said, shoulders sagging a little, a shaky relief in her voice. “. . . You are ok, aren’t you?” She seemed a little concerned, taking in the sight of all of them.

“Mm. . I’m a little banged up. . . . But I’m ok now,” Snufkin murmured, chuckling a little breathily. He sounded exhausted but he was smiling.

“Well, I think Moominmamma already wants to check you all for injuries. She’s dying to see you all, we should get going,” Jenny beckoned them over and ran ahead. 

Moominmamma yelled their names, rushing over when she spotted them, giving them all lots of hugs, and looking overwhelmed to see them all ok.

She was gushing about how worried she was and how unbelievably glad she was to see them all safe and sound, rushing from one person to the next, unable to focus on just one of them.

It took her a minute to calm down and get into a rhythm that stabilized her. She had them sit down on one very big log and went down the line, instructing Jenny to put the kettle on over the fire for tea, and asking Too Ticky to hold the case with the first aid kit.

Moomintroll wasn’t expecting Too Ticky to be there. It was rather curious.

Knollermaiden and Snorkmaiden were pretty uninjured. Knollermaiden was still rather shaken up, and Moominmamma gave her a handkerchief and another warm hug. Knollermaiden was getting incredibly shy and couldn’t speak, but she was glowing.

Moominmamma got the two girls each a warm mug of tea and kind words, and moved down the line to her sons.

Moomintroll’s arm was fine, but Moominmamma inspected it very closely anyway. Moomintroll stopped wearing bandages for it almost a week earlier. There were still scars when you pushed away the fur, and sometimes his arm felt rather stiff, but he was ok. 

He had a few scrapes from tumbling a bit on the roof that Moominmamma fussed over, but he insisted it was nothing to worry about.

Snufkin, on the other hand, had really been through the wringer.

Moominmamma had to coax him out of Moomintroll’s arms so she could check him properly.

Snufkin was hesitant and quiet, and he sat next to Moomintroll on the log, clearly very tired, leaning his head on Moomintroll’s shoulder and not resisting as Moominmamma checked him out.

He didn’t have any broken bones, but he had a lot of bruises. He had a few greenish-yellow ones on his arms, and newer, pink-red one’s right in the middle of his back and on his shoulder which had apparently banged on the floor twice, and a big one on his side near his ribs where he’d been kicked, but the worst was his wrists. 

When Moominmamma pulled back his sleeves to check, many of them gasped. They had some spots that were yellowed with age, but they were mostly black and blue and very tender to touch.

He was also a little scraped up from being dragged around on the roof and he’d hit his head twice, plus his shoulder sockets were very strained and had nearly been dislocated when he grabbed onto the balcony railing and got jerked to a halt.

Moominmamma checked him for concussions, but she wasn’t entirely sure how to. He had a few of the symptoms though, so Moominmamma decided he shouldn’t go to sleep just in case, since that could be bad if he did have one.

She made ice packs for his wrists and insisted on elevating them some. 

Snufkin sat in front of the log instead of on it, leaning against it. Moominmamma grabbed one of the travel bags and wrapped it in a blanket so it was like a thick pillow, placing it on Snufkin’s lap and having him rest his wrists with the ice packs on it. 

Snufkin seemed very dazed and exhausted, but happy to have Moominmamma there mothering him.

Eventually, Joxter returned with Little My. 

Little My ran right up to Snufkin and jumped on top of his blanket thingy, grabbing him tight in a hug.

Snufkin was a bit dazed, she’d been too fast to properly process, but his brain caught up and he returned the hug, smiling, but looking like he was about to cry again.

“I thought he was going to kill you,” Snufkin breathed, voice cracking and shuddering.

Little My tutted. “No one can kill _me_. I would have killed him first if he tried. Still wish I did,” she said a bit darkly.

Snufkin just took very deep, shaky breaths.

Moomintroll had his brows rather creased, having no idea what had happened, pretty confused and concerned, but neither of them elaborated. 

Moomintroll decided it would be best not to ask though. He just stayed by Snufkin’s side, resting. 

Little My still hovered very close after she stopped hugging Snufkin. Meanwhile, Moominmamma was trying to check Joxter’s injuries.

Joxter was rather annoyed but too tired to properly get her off of his back, and she had her way in the end.

It got colder as the sun set, and they all huddled close to the fire. Moominmamma started a stew and made sure everyone had blankets and tea or coffee.

Snufkin was still shivering some, and he allowed Moomintroll to put his arm around him, huddling close together and blinking tiredly.

Joxter sat down tiredly next to Snufkin after shooing someone else aside and pulled Snufkin’s yellow scarf out of his pocket.

“This might help ward off the cold,” Joxter smiled, shoulders sagging in exhaustion, holding it out.

Snufkin seemed a little surprised, or at least just wasn’t expecting it. He slowly slid his paws out of the ice packs and took the scarf a bit shakily.

He was smiling almost shyly. He looped it around his neck and put it on how he usually did.

He didn’t need to speak, you could just see it in his face.

“Starting to look much more like your normal self,” Little My said a bit proudly, putting her hands on her hips as Snufkin slipped his paws back into the ice packs.

Snufkin nodded sheepishly, smiling. Joxter was beaming.

“But it’s not quite complete yet,” she said slyly, before running off to the tent where a few more bags were stashed.

Moomintroll and Snufkin glanced at each other in confusion, but Joxter had a dawning realization on his face and clearly knew what she was up to.

Little My returned soon enough with a familiar green hat that made them gasp. Little My hopped up on to the log, walking across and plopping it on Snufkin’s head.

“There,” she said, dusting off her hands and walking off looking satisfied.

Snufkin chuckled airily, removing his paw from the ice pack again to adjust it a little.

“That’s much better,” he said rather quietly, and Moomintroll could hear the lightness in his voice.

He looked much more comfortable, and much more like himself again. 

Moominmamma started passing out bowls of hot stew just as a few policemen arrived. There were some standard procedures they had to go through, and they needed statements from many of them.

Snufkin was very still. He seemed very uncomfortable at the prospect, and Moominmamma convinced them to wait a while for him till he was ready.

In the end, they decided to wait till they got back to Moominhouse, then the Moominvalley inspector would take all of their statements and send it off wherever it needed to be.

It was a very long night, and plenty of conversations were had. At one point Moomintroll managed to say something sly that made Snufkin stare at him in shock one minute before he burst out laughing.

Moomintroll was surprised he managed it and blushing a bit under his fur, but the sound warmed his heart better than everything else that happened that night.

It had been far too long since he’d heard Snufkin laugh, and it was way cuter than he remembered.

That thought made him blush deeper in embarrassment. He hoped no one noticed.

……… 

Knollermaiden was huddled in a blanket near the fire, rather overwhelmed, but glowing on the inside.

She couldn’t bring herself to speak. She just stared around at all the tired, joyful, homely faces. Everyone was relaxing around the fire, eating delicious soup, and drinking tea and coffee, and some people were still bustling around, but it was so nice, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in an atmosphere like this.

She had a bowl of her own, warming her paws, and Snorkmaiden was sitting next to her, and they were _starting over._

Knollermaiden could barely process that.

She had another chance to be friends. She could get this right. She would actually have a real friend again! She could hardly contain herself, she was so excited.

There was a little seed of doubt in her mind though.

What if she messed this up? What if she got too clingy? Or too needy? Or what if she was annoying? People always said she was slow. She was ignorant. She was stupid. She was a cry baby.

It left her so incredibly nervous. She desperately wanted to just be a good friend. She didn’t know what to do. She was getting _way_ too overwhelmed about this-

Thoughts kept whirling around in her head. Her bowl shook a little in her paws.

One of her paws started slowly grabbing at the ground, gripping the grass, trying to find something steadying, something grounding. Nothing quite felt right.

Was she getting nauseous? She wasn’t sure. She could barely think straight, she-

“Woah, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” Snorkmaiden seemed a bit confused and rather concerned at the expression on her face.

It pulled Knollermaiden out of her own head a bit and her gaze found Snorkmaiden’s. 

Knollermaiden opened her mouth a little, anxieties returning and flaring up rather quickly.

She tried to say something, but it got caught in her throat at first. It took her a minute of panicking to start coming up with something to say, and it took even longer to get it out of her mouth.

“I. . . I don’t want to mess everything up,” She said, her voice _very_ small. Her paw found a strong weed and she grabbed it tightly right where it went into the ground. It wasn’t ideal, but it was as solid as she was going to get right then.

“What do you mean?” Snorkmaiden asked. “Do you think you’re going to mess something up?”

“. . . I guess,” Knollermaiden breathed, trembling some. “I’ve messed up so many things. All of my old friends don’t want to see me anymore. Not since the paper made that story about uncle. . . . . .”

She found herself pausing, closing her mouth tightly. She stared a bit blankly at the fire, starting to lose her train of thought. 

She slowly set down her bowl on the grass and grabbed her locket.

The tiny chain around her neck was as heavy as ever, maybe even more so now.

She stared down at it, mouth opening just slightly, not knowing what to do with herself.

She grabbed tighter on to the weed.

_. . . “Get him to stop, Pull Me Up!” . . ._

Knollermaiden stared blankly, muscles tensing up. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t hear anything.

_. . . “That’s an Order!” he screeched. The sound thundered and rang in her ears. . ._

She was trembling. Pressing her mouth closed. She didn’t know what to do. What was she going to do? 

The sound haunted her mind. She had turned away and closed her eyes before he fell, but she could remember his final, long, desperate yell as he tumbled down.

And Gib said he was dead. Joxter confirmed he was dead. The police confirmed he was dead and were taking care of his body.

Her uncle was dead.

Her last remaining relative was dead.

He was _dead._

Someone shook her shoulder. She was startled to realize this, snapping her gaze around and finding Snorkmaiden who looked a little freaked out on her behalf. 

Sounds came rushing back in around her and Knollermaiden realized she wasn’t breathing. She was light-headed. 

For a panicked moment, she still couldn’t breathe and it took a lot of effort to snap out of it and start again. It was very shaky and difficult.

Snorkmaiden grabbed her hand and Knollermaiden clutched it without thinking. It was more solid than the weed had been which seemed to be helping.

“Hey, what happened? You were _really_ spaced out there,” Snorkmaiden asked, still sounding a little freaked out and concerned, but she was steady.

Knollermaiden didn’t know how to answer.

She realized she was crying. _Again_. Silently, just dripping down her face, pooling in her eyes and making her vision blurry.

Her movement was slow and heavy as she wiped it away rather frustratedly, trying to stop.

“Sorry,” she whispered, still trying to get her wits about her.

“For what?” Snorkmaiden said, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

Knollermaiden was at a loss for words for a minute, gazing back at her. “For _this_. . For being so. . So emotional,” she said anxiously, feeling her face heat up just a bit.

Snorkmaiden looked even more incredulous. “I’d be more concerned if you _weren’t_ emotional after everything that’s happened today.”

Knollermaiden didn’t know what to say to that.

There was silence between the two of them for a little bit.

They listened to the muffled sounds of conversation around them. The crackling fire. The chill wind blowing through the trees.

Knollermaiden clutched her locket blankly again. She opened it and stared at the pictures inside. She didn’t know if she was zoning out again.

It was hard to imagine him actually dead.

She recognized how cruel he’d been, how long he’d lied to her, how long he’d made so many creatures suffer, but right then she couldn’t stop thinking about the times they used to just have tea at her place.

They’d had jokes. They’d had conversations. He loved her brownies best so she made them especially often, and they were _happy._

She reminded herself that that time had been one of the worst of all, with countless creatures suffering in the basement, trapped in cases, being trained, and even _electrocuted._

That thought still made her shiver in revulsion and fear, but her brain wasn’t cooperating with her. It still remembered the happy times she’d had with him.

He’d certainly been nicer to be around than her parents were. At least, back _then_ he had been. 

She had grown attached to him. She hadn’t questioned him when he asked her to do things. She had trusted him when he told her everything was ok.

He. . . He had trained her. He trained her to trust him, and follow orders and not question things. Even after that first time she visited Moominvalley and she realized how wrong the museum had been and how twisted Knoller was, she still kept doing exactly what he told her to do. Even after being in the cage and fully comprehending how bad he was, it took Too Ticky’s intervention to get her to disobey him, and she had still been hesitant and petrified at first.

She was crying again, unable to calm the storm in her head, clutching Snorkmaiden’s hand and the locket.

“Is. . Is it horrid of me to miss him?” she croaked a little, voice barely audible and kind of high.

Snorkmaiden didn’t say anything at first, gazing between Knollermaiden and the locket.

“I know he was terrible to you,” Knollermaiden said shakily, feeling like she was being squeezed very tight and it was nearly unbearable. “And I guess he’s been terrible to me too. But I can’t stop thinking of the times when he was nice. When we would visit every week, and we were happy, and we were family,” she blubbered, her voice getting higher and more strained, tears rolling down her cheeks that she tried to wipe away again in vain.

Snorkmaiden seemed to ponder this greatly.

“. . . I think. . It makes sense for you to miss him, even if he was terrible,” She said a bit hesitantly, staring into space. “You knew him for years. He clearly, purposefully left you in the dark about many things. . . But I think I get it.”

“But, he _was_ awful,” Knollermaiden blubbered, unable to stop crying. “When I was happy back then, Lachlan, and the fairies, and all those other creatures were _stuck_. When- when I was happy, they were suffering,” she cried, getting even more frustrated with herself.

The grass rustled a bit as someone walked over.

“Is something the matter?” Too Ticky asked, sitting on Knollermaiden’s other side. She seemed gently concerned.

Knollermaiden went a bit pink, losing her train of thought. A small sound came out of her mouth, but it didn’t form any words. She wondered where to even start.

Snorkmaiden came to the rescue. “She feels bad for missing her Uncle when he was terrible to everyone else,” she explained gently, sounding like she really didn’t know what to do.

“Ah, I see,” Too Ticky murmured thoughtfully.

Knollermaiden gave a small nod, wiping frustratedly at her cheek again.

“There’s no need to fret. It makes sense that you’d have good memories of him to miss him by,” Too Ticky explained gently. “You can miss the good times and still recognize the bad bits were unhealthy and had to stop.”

Knollermaiden stared at her, processing that. She didn’t fully get it and Too Ticky seemed to recognize the confusion on her face.

“Were there a lot of good times?” Too Ticky ended up asking.

Knollermaiden nodded. “. . . I think I got attached to him really quick,” she murmured, remembering. “He wasn’t. . _Stifling_ like my parents were. He encouraged my baking and gardening, and things I liked instead of saying it wasn’t proper. We visited often, and we had so many good times. . .” She got lost in thought, thinking about how different she remembered him back then. 

Of course, it wasn’t _all_ fun. Most of it was, but there were bits and pieces that connected in her brain that recalled how. . . Cutthroat he could be. How dark he could get. She’d always brushed it off in the past, but now she couldn’t. 

Like that time she let something secret about the museum slip to her friend and that friend disappeared overnight after her uncle found out. Knollermaiden was still terrified to think of what could have happened to that friend. It was one of the reasons she’d been scared when Snorkmaiden disappeared from her life so suddenly last year.

“It’s natural to miss him. You can mourn your loss. You don’t have to feel bad about it,” Too Ticky said.

Knollermaiden took that in rather slowly and hesitantly. She wasn’t sure how to take it.

She was silent, trying to figure it out, staring at her locket again.

It really was heavy. It had been heavy for such a long time, but she just tried to ignore it since Knoller told her to keep it on.

But she didn’t have to fear what would happen if she ignored him now.

That thought was startling, and honestly scary, but why in the world should it be scary?

Knollermaiden creased her brow. 

She heard something else going on around the campfire, distracting her from her thoughts. She looked up, around at everyone.

“Moominmamma, are you done cooking with the fire?” Joxter was asking, fingering one of his pockets.

“I believe I am,” Moominmamma answered, settling in and sitting beside Moominpappa and Moomintroll. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve got something we need to burn,” Joxter answered, a bit distractedly since he was pulling something out of his pocket. He nudged Snufkin’s arm just a tad, getting his attention.

Everyone was paying attention, hushing up a bit to watch.

“Want to do the honors?” Joxter said carefully and gently, holding out a familiar collar to Snufkin.

Snufkin was quiet, a guarded expression on his face. He was slow. He grabbed it with shaky paws, staring at it a minute, hardening his gaze.

A minute or two later he leaned forward and tossed it right in the middle of the fire. Everyone was somber, staring at it, but there was a silent triumph in the air that they shared.

Snufkin put his wrists back in the ice packs and stared at it with a hard expression. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and leaned on his father’s shoulder, watching it.

Knollermaiden gazed at them for a while.

At some point, she became aware of the chain still around her neck. She furrowed her eyebrows some, glancing down at it again.

She _really_ didn’t want to keep it on. It was too heavy, and all it did was remind her of her loss. Of the uncle who might have treated her nicely before, but also trained and terrorized her.

She didn’t want to have it constantly weighing her down. Of course, the memories would probably never leave, but she didn’t need this to worsen it.

She found herself lifting it over her head and taking it off. Her neck instantly felt better without the weight, and she held it in her hand for a while.

She snapped it closed and stared at it.

It was weird to think about how a couple of years ago she would have been baffled at a decision like this. She probably would have treasured the gift.

But it never really felt like a gift in the first place. It was always just a reminder of who she belonged to.

Well, she didn’t belong to him anymore.

She tossed it in with the collar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something Joxter and Little My purposefully decided not to tell the group was that Knoller was impaled on a spiky fence at the bottom. . .
> 
> They didn't think the more traumatized people needed that gruesome image in their minds, especially Knollermaiden.
> 
> So. One more chapter to go! Who's excited? :D
> 
> Also, _Artists!_ I need your help with something!! I need help designing a character. A character I've mentioned a few times in this series. I'll tell you who it is in the next chapter though. This is kind of like a heads-up I suppose!
> 
> Another thing, there's this fic that's been in my head. It's a really good one, by this person here on Ao3 called Toby_Green. The story is about Joxter and Snufkin and it's called "Maturity comes with a cost", and I think it deserves _way_ more love than it currently has. So you guys should go check it out and give it some love!  
> VERY IMPORTANT THOUGH, don't tell anyone I sent you! That would ruin the fun.
> 
> Hope you have a good day! And drink water! And if it's two in the morning, please get some sleep :D


	19. Searching. . .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on whether you're ready or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have a problem (ಥ﹏ಥ)
> 
> I may or may not have found a website with tons of emoticons to easily copy and paste from (◕‿◕✿)
> 
> And I may or may not have been overusing them in everything lately. . . . (ヾ;￣▽￣)ヾ
> 
> I apologize in advance, ๑•́ㅿ•̀๑) ᔆᵒʳʳᵞ

The next morning, everyone woke up rather late. They’d stayed up quite a while the night before, and now everyone was bustling about, packing things up to go home.

Breakfast was quick and soon they were off.

Snufkin wanted to walk for a lot of the day, but it seemed many of his injuries, especially the bruise on his side, were giving him a lot of trouble and he often seemed to be wincing.

There was a long bit where Joxter carried him on his back and Snufkin ended up dozing off at some point

Larger groups always tend to be slower in travel like this, so it took longer to get back than it had to get there, but thankfully Moominvalley wasn’t that far.

Apparently, there was a _lot_ of stolen artwork in Lakeworth’s possession, as well as some other dubious goods, and topping that off with kidnapping and hostages, Lakeworth and all of his associates were in _big_ trouble.

Lakeworth didn’t even know of the police’s arrival when he got back from his “business trip” and was easily arrested without them having to go find him.

Lakeworth was rather shocked, to say the least.

The police sent them updates on it all.

When they finally got home, everyone was relieved and stayed over at Moominhouse.

There were eventually the uncomfortable bits where everyone had to tell the inspector all that happened and what Knoller did to them. 

That was very tense and done one at a time in private for the most part. 

It was over soon enough though, and Moominmamma started a big dinner, conscripting help for a lot of it, but certain people she refused to give work to and demanded they rest instead for their own health.

Snufkin and Joxter were the most banged up, so they were confined to the couch the whole afternoon, but neither seemed to mind. Snufkin might have protested in the past, but he was still worn out and recovering. He slept a lot.

Right in the middle of it, Snork and Sniff arrived, overjoyed to see them all back safe and sound. Knollermaiden got to meet Snorkmaiden’s brother, which was a little awkward at first, but they turned out ok.

Moominmamma invited them to stay for dinner too and they had a magnificent meal, filling everyone up nicely. It was especially nice for Snufkin, Moomintroll, and Snorkmaiden as their meals had been rather dull and limited for the past month.

It was delicious and everyone’s spirits were lifted.

Afterward, Snufkin nervously said he was feeling cramped up from all the constant company and needed time outside, but he wasn’t ready to be alone yet. Not after what happened last time. So Joxter went with him.

No one knew quite where they went, but they could guess that it was somewhere quiet, and likely somewhere peaceful and secluded.

Knollermaiden was invited to stay at Snork and Snorkmaiden’s house and she accepted.

It didn’t quite feel real. There was this certain, odd, lightness in the atmosphere that made Knollermaiden feel like she might be dreaming. The pressure in the air was off, but it was. . . Really cool at the same time? It was awkward, and mysterious, but it was nice.

The night was dark as they made their way there after giving Moominmamma hugs and promising to visit the next day. The air was crisp and chilly, and Knollermaiden huddled in a coat since her fur wasn’t as thick as a Snork’s or a Moomin’s was. Winter would be upon them in only a few weeks. . .

They got to the tall, yellow house and turned on the lights, and Knollermaiden glanced around, feeling very odd but in a good way.

The siblings showed her the guest bedroom and the bathroom, and anything else she might need to know about. Everyone was rather tired and yawning often.

They didn’t waste much time going to bed.

……… 

Snufkin was sitting on a log, in a deep secluded area of the forest, trying to relax and breathe, getting a moment to himself.

He wasn’t fully by himself, of course. His Dad was nearby, lounging up in a tree.

They were by a pond, and it was really quite beautiful. Snufkin’s night eyes especially helped him take in all of the beauty. 

The moon was full and surrounded by stars, reflecting on the water, with fireflies drifting about. The trees were old and gnarly but in a homely way. Ferns and flowers grew about in little clusters and looked rather blue instead of green in the night light, blending in with the pond nicely. It was picturesque and peaceful, and Snufkin took it in as much as he could, relaxing his shoulders and just breathing.

If he focused hard enough, he could pretend he was really alone. He could focus on himself, away from the crowds, from the harsher light, from the chatter and noise and attention.

He could listen to the wind and the water.

He could just be.

Then, of course, there were the moments where his mind started playing tricks on him. The moments where shadows started looking like Knoller’s hulking form hidden among the trees, and he couldn’t stop thinking about that day so long ago, that walk he’d gone on by himself, all alone, only to get jumped and kidnapped again.

Those were the moments where he was glad to look back at Joxter sitting nearby. It didn’t get rid of his nerves, but it helped to remind himself.

Someone had his back. Knoller was dead. Joxter could take anyone who tried to come. Knoller wasn’t coming back, he’s _dead_.

It was still rather annoying. His logic kept battling his anxieties. His trauma told him that last time he thought Knoller wasn’t coming back, he came and was worse than ever. His common sense told him a dead man couldn’t come back and hurt him.

And he _was_ dead.

Joxter had seen for himself. Little My apparently checked him out too. The police took his body away. He _wasn’t coming back._

So why did he still have to battle his own mind convincing himself of that? He was still jumpy. He still had a pit in his stomach. It was incredibly frustrating.

They’d been there for quite a while by now, almost completely silent. Though, there was one point where Joxter had something to ask him about.

“Hey, Snufkin? Are you up for talking? If not, it’s not urgent, I can wait,” Joxter ended up saying, a bit sheepishly.

Snufkin glanced up at him, thinking.

“What’s on your mind?” Snufkin ended up saying a moment later.

Joxter smiled and stretched a bit, hopping down from the tree and walking over, digging around in his pocket.

“I found this a while ago,” he said, taking out a paper note and sitting on the log next to Snufkin. He seemed almost shy which was rare coming from him. “I was wondering if the invitation was still available,” he said, holding it out so Snufkin could take it.

Snufkin took it and unfolded it, quickly recognizing his own handwriting. 

Gosh, in all the stress he’d forgotten all about this note. He recalled it now easily enough, reading it in his head.

He got a bit lost in thought, holding it for a minute before he remembered Joxter asked him something.

Snufkin was probably a bit pink, though it wouldn’t be as obvious in the night light. He nodded his head.

“Yeah. . . It’s still open,” he murmured, tilting his head down, though he couldn’t hold back a small smile.

Joxter’s tail was wagging a little.

“Well I’d love to come,” he said, voice a little gravely, beaming as he stared out at the lake. 

Snufkin felt rather warm inside. 

They sat in silence for a while longer. Snufkin ended up leaning his head on Joxter’s shoulder.

Joxter put his arm around Snufkin’s shoulder and they sat together, enjoying the peaceful night air.

It was quiet, and nice, and comfortable.

Snufkin wasn’t as anxious.

They didn’t have to do anything. Didn’t have to talk. Didn’t have to be anywhere. They could just be.

And Snufkin hadn’t been able to just be in a _very_ long time.

That thought made him shudder a bit, tipping his mind in a direction he did not want to think about.

He just needed the quiet.

……… 

Days drifted by slowly. They all saw each other quite a lot. 

Knollermaiden baked a _ton_. She made treats for everyone and gave them out, though she never once made brownies. Instead, she made cupcakes, and meringues, and sweet rolls, and cookies, and a pumpkin pie, and everyone agreed she was _amazing_ at it.

She always blushed deeply when people complimented her skills, too flustered to even get out a proper thank you.

She admitted it had been actually quite a long time since she did any baking because for months there was no one she could bake for and it didn’t feel good just making it for herself.

She was very happy to get back into it and slowly became very at home in Moominmamma’s kitchen.

Snufkin was around, often close to his campsite, hanging out with his dad, or Little My, or Moomintroll, but never very many people at once.

Many people suspected that what he really wanted was to disappear for a day or two, to really recharge and be all alone for a while, but they could tell why he didn’t.

He wasn’t ready yet. Not after last time.

No one knew quite when he’d be ready, Snufkin least of all, but they were accommodating and made sure not to be overbearing.

One day Knollermaiden found herself walking down the path towards the bridge, with a plate to offer Snufkin one of the meringues she’d finished making. They were rose flavored today and her face was still flushed some from compliments she’d gotten for them.

Snufkin was sitting by himself on a log in front of his fire, cooking his lunch. He was facing away from her so he didn’t see her coming, though he heard her footsteps in the grass soon enough and glanced over.

“Um, hi,” Knollermaiden shuffled over, getting very shy.

Snufkin didn’t say anything, just taking her in.

Knollermaiden never quite knew what to do around Snufkin. Memories of the first few times she’d seen him often crossed her mind, making her feel quite awkward, and he was often so quiet.

She often seemed to remember the time when she ran into him on the path back over two months ago, and he’d looked horrified and ran away. 

“. . . Um. . I made some rose meringues and I wondered if you might want to try one?” Knollermaiden said, her voice a bit high, unable to relax her shoulders.

Snufkin glanced down at the plate in her paws, an unreadable expression on his face.

Knollermaiden suddenly realized that he’d never accepted any of her other baked goods before. With most of her recent treats, he just hadn’t been around when she made them, and in the past, he’d been stuck in a museum, and then stuck trotting around after Knoller, and he’d just refused.

That realization made her feel even more awkward. She wondered if he didn’t like sweets, or if maybe it was just her. . . 

That made her a bit embarrassed. Of course, it would make sense if he still didn’t like her. She wouldn’t blame him. She was terrible. . She- she was ignorant, she was-

“Sure,” Snufkin said simply.

Knollermaiden snapped out of her spiraling thoughts, staring a bit blankly.

Snufkin slowly grabbed one of the meringues off of the plate and looked at it for a minute. He tried it, and it was a bit crumbly, but that was normal for meringues.

Knollermaiden was frozen. She didn’t know what to do with herself.

Snufkin was still a bit of a blank slate, so she had no idea what he thought of it.

“Hm. . .” He seemed a little surprised. “It’s good,” he said rather simply.

Knollermaiden felt her face heating up, but she lit up like a christmas tree.

“T-thanks,” she stammered out, rubbing behind her neck. So- so he didn’t hate her? Or at least he didn’t refuse her baked goods because he hated her. Or maybe he was just being polite. But he could have refused politely and he’s done that before, so that didn’t seem like him. And he _liked_ the meringue? That was amazing!

She also wondered what she was to do now. Did she just go back? Would that be too sudden and awkward? What now?

She was frozen in indecision.

“. . . You know,” Snufkin started rather quietly, sounding like he felt rather awkward himself. “I never got the chance to. . To thank you. .”

Knollermaiden was kind of surprised, not expecting this at all. She didn’t know what to say.

“For pulling the knife away up on the roof that is,” Snufkin’s voice was very small when he said that, tilting his hat down some.

Neither knew what to say for a while. There was a thick tension in the air as both of them recalled that day.

It felt, to Knollermaiden, like it had been simultaneously just yesterday, and a lifetime ago. Everything was so drastically different for her now.

The memory still made her shudder and shrink a little. Not a single day passed without her thinking about it. Thinking about _him_. Feeling conflicted about it. Any random hour of the day, she remembered, and at night it was the worst. 

Her fur around her cheeks still looked off. She’d cried so many times in the past months, it felt all weird there now. Some days she wondered if it would _ever_ go back to normal again.

“I. . . I really thought,” Snufkin’s voice was rather low and shaky. He went slowly, having to feel out the words. “I really thought I was going to die that day,” he murmured, seeming shook. He paused for quite a while. “. . So thanks.”

Knollermaiden stared a minute. He was very still. 

She could barely see where the bruises on his wrists peeked out from under his sleeves. They had gotten better, but they would still be there for a long while.

“Of course,” she ended up murmuring breathily. “It- it was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” Snufkin said. She couldn’t see all of his face. A tremor ran through his voice. “If you weren’t there, Gib would have jumped in, and Knoller would have killed me. That’s not-,” he had to take a shaky breath. He wiped his face with his paw. “That’s not nothing.”

Again, there was silence for a minute. 

“. . . Well, you’re welcome. It was no trouble, is what I mean,” Knollermaiden didn’t know what else to say. She was rather quiet and somber. 

She was trying to distract her mind and not remember too vividly. That wouldn’t be good.

Snufkin nodded just a tiny bit.

Knollermaiden stared blankly at the grass for a bit. Then at the fire, or at her plate, not bothering to focus on anything.

She glanced up a bit and noticed movement, then focused in and realized Moomintroll was coming down the path towards them.

“Oh, hi Knollermaiden, hello Snufkin,” Moomintroll said, and Knollermaiden could feel the tension in the air lifting. That was a big relief.

Snufkin seemed to lighten up too. He couldn’t seem to help smiling, though he wiped his eyes a bit before he looked up.

“Hi Moomintroll,” Knollermaiden greeted, her shoulders dropping.

“Ooh, what are those?” Moomintroll noticed the plate in her hand. “I thought I heard people in the kitchen,” he chuckled.

“They’re rose meringues. Do you want one?” Knollermaiden offered the plate shyly. 

Moomintroll took one and tried it, lighting up. “Oh, they’re delicious! You’ve really outdone yourself.” 

Knollermaiden felt her face heating up again, but she couldn’t stop smiling. She opened her mouth to say thanks, but she couldn’t seem to get her voice to work properly.

Moomintroll seemed to understand the look on her face though.

“Hey Snufkin, do you mind having company now?” Moomintroll said, sounding a bit shy himself.

“I don’t mind,” Snufkin said, his voice still rather small. 

Knollermaiden felt it was about time she got going.

“I think I’ll see you guys around,” She stuttered a little, still blushing, starting to retreat.

“Ok. See ya,” Moomintroll waved, and Snufkin waved as well.

Knollermaiden turned back and walked back down the bridge, heading back inside.

Overall, she felt that went rather well. Even if it did get a little weird, she didn’t feel as awkward around Snufkin, she supposed. Still a little awkward, but not as much.

And he wasn’t just avoiding her treats because he hated her. Or at least, she had no reason to assume he hated her. One could never be sure. She tried not to dwell on that.

Quinn still never talked around her.

She still wasn’t entirely sure if he could talk at all, though she could guess by what other people mentioned casually around her that he probably could.

Jenny seemed convinced that Quinn was getting less uncomfortable around her though. He was wearing his scarf around her. Knollermaiden didn’t quite understand it, but Jenny seemed to think that was big.

She still wouldn’t blame Quinn if he never got comfortable around her though. She let him sit in a museum case for months, over a year even. He could hate her and she wouldn’t blame him. She would manage. She was used to it.

She realized how lost in thought she’d gotten as she reached the door and hesitated on the porch.

She shook her head a bit to try and clear her thoughts before opening the door. 

Inside she found Moominmamma preparing lunch, and she could hear Sniff, Little My, and Snorkmaiden upstairs doing something.

“Hello dear,” Moominmamma greeted when Knollermaiden went to the kitchen to put the plate of meringues on the counter for later.

“Hi,” Knollermaiden smiled. “I hope I didn’t leave anything out or in the way,” she said a bit nervously, glancing around at the counters.

“Oh, don’t worry, you did a fine job cleaning up after yourself,” Moominmamma said warmly. “And we’ve never been too worried about messes around here anyway.”

Knollermaiden grinned a little. She ended up slipping off her jacket since it was much warmer inside. She noticed Moominmamma was making more food for lunch than necessary. 

“What’s all this extra food for, Moominmamma?” She asked curiously.

“It’s to pack for your trip. Moominpappa’s ready to go tomorrow, and Snorkmaiden offered to go along as well,” Moominmamma said, pointing out some bags she had ready to pack the food in.

Knollermaiden remembered then. They were going to pick up a few important things from her house. 

One of the things Knollermaiden was most anxious to get was Lachlan’s letter. It was probably still sitting on the counter, abandoned in her kitchen. It was very important to her.

She couldn’t say she was exactly looking forward to the trip though. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle seeing her garden. She was going to save what she could, but a lot of it would be too late. 

It wasn’t all hopeless though, she reminded herself. Many of the plants would bounce back alright. And maybe one or two of them she could pot up and take back with her.

And she could start a new garden when she found a place to settle down.

Until then she could help Moominmamma and Snorkmaiden with theirs.

It was still a great loss though. She had worked on her old garden for years. It had gotten her through so much, especially this last year. She had poured so much of her heart into it. It was no wonder she couldn’t help still being very upset.

Moominmamma seemed to notice how still Knollermaiden had gotten, remembering. 

Knollermaiden was a bit startled, snapping out of it. “Oh, yeah, course,” she murmured a bit blankly. Then she processed a bit of what Moominmamma had mentioned and looked up. “Snorkmaiden is coming?” She said, a bit in wonder.

“She said she wanted to. If that’s alright with you of course,” Moominmamma said warmly.

“Of course it is,” Knollermaiden said, smiling shyly at the floor. Having Snorkmaiden along would probably be much more fun. It would probably help take her mind off of more heavy things.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and see what Snorkmaiden and the others are doing right now? I’ll call you all down for lunch when it’s ready,” Moominmamma said, busying herself.

“Oh, ok,” Knollermaiden said, nodding a bit. She left to head upstairs, thinking over many different things.

………… 

A little over a week later, they were back from their trip with just a bag or two of Knollermaiden’s more important things, and three small, potted plants that had been saved.

Knollermaiden had her letter back, and she read it and stared off into space often. She usually kept it in her pocket.

She gifted one of her plants to Moominmamma as a thank you for all she’d done for her, and she ended up gifting Snorkmaiden one of her best hats too.

They weren’t expecting it at all and seemed to really like them, and it warmed Knollermaiden’s heart.

The other two plants Knollermaiden kept potted. She knew she wasn’t going to stay at Snorkmaiden’s house forever. When she found a place to settle down, she was going to plant them there, as a start to a new garden. Wherever that may be.

And Knollermaiden really had no clue where that would be. No one was pressuring her to figure it out super quickly though. They expected she’d at least stay over the winter, probably hibernating with them, and even after, they assured her they weren’t in any hurry to be rid of her or anything.

That was comforting to hear. Knollermaiden still had anxieties about overstaying her welcome though. She couldn’t help it.

One day Knollermaiden was helping Snorkmaiden with her garden. They were putting mulch out to help protect the plants from the bitter cold all winter.

It was dull work to most, but not Knollermaiden, and she had her gloves and her apron now which was nice. 

Afterward, they could warm up inside with hot tea and cocoa, and later they were going to go to Moominhouse.

They chatted while they worked, and all around it was a nice time. It reminded Knollermaiden of simpler times, back when they first met and chatted over tea.

At one point though, smoke started pouring out of Snork’s room window and Snorkmaiden was all exasperated, saying she’d be right back and that she had to check on him.

“Alright,” Knollermaiden said cheerfully since by now she knew smoke pouring out of Snork’s window wasn’t _really_ too much to be alarmed about. She’d been freaked out the first time, but by now she was realizing how often things like that happened.

Snorkmaiden waved as she reached the door, mumbling something under her breath about her brother.

Knollermaiden continued with the mulch, humming something under her breath. 

The plant in front of her was quite ready for winter, it seemed. Some people might think it looked dead or dying, but Knollermaiden knew better.

She found herself whispering little things to herself, or to the plants really. She still hadn’t broken out of that habit it seemed. She was very complimentary to them and mentioned how they’ll be ready for winter, and everything was going to be alright.

She didn’t know how much time passed. It could have been quite a while. Or not, she had no idea.

Someone tapped her shoulder and she jumped, nearly squealing in fright, whipping around to see Gib standing there behind her.

“ _Gib?!_ ” She said, almost whispering, rather blank. 

There he was. Stepping back a bit. Silent. Right next to Snorkmaiden’s house.

Mostly she was surprised, but her mind was whirling around, excited one minute, apprehensive another, happy the next and terrified right after, memories jumbling about and getting confused.

Gib himself looked a little awkward and blank. Both stared at each other for quite a while, processing things and not saying a word.

“What are you doing here?” Knollermaiden finally broke the silence, unable to help glancing around to see if anybody else was nearby.

Gib stared to the side a bit, standing stiffly.

“. . . Wanted to see you,” he muttered.

Knollermaiden didn’t know what to do with herself. Didn’t know what to say.

With a start, she realized he’d probably heard her talking to the plants. Her face went a bit red in embarrassment.

“Well. . I-. . . I’m always happy to see you Gib, really,” Knollermaiden really was, she couldn’t help it after knowing him so many years, especially after he defended her and helped save her. 

“But,- if Snufkin, or anyone else really,- if they spotted you, they’d _flip_ out,” She blubbered, feeling anxieties flare up.

She knew Gib had almost always been the one helping her Uncle bring creatures to the museum. He might have been sneaky enough to never get convicted, but he was still a criminal. She knew this.

Gib shrugged a little. Knollermaiden could read his face. He knew.

There was another spot of silence where the awkwardness grew.

“. . . . So, what have you been doing all this time?” Knollermaiden ended up asking, finding herself anxious about the answer.

Gib shrugged a little again. “Searching. . .”

“Searching?” Knollermaiden murmured. She raised her eyebrows a little. “For me?”

“Other things too,” Gib said shortly, but he nodded too. His own awkwardness seemed to grow a little.

“What kind of things?” Knollermaiden found herself asking. She couldn’t help being curious. 

Gib had a look on his face. He was quiet again. It gave her the impression that it was probably private. She was just thinking of opening her mouth and apologizing for asking, but he started saying something, rather slow and hesitant. 

“I thought of someone I could find,” he muttered. “Someone you’d like to see,” he finally looked her in the eye.

Knollermaiden blinked, very surprised and not expecting this. “You. . W- what?”

Gib nodded, looking around at something else again.

Knollermaiden was drawing a blank. Someone she’d like to see? The only people coming to her head were old friends, people she already knew where they lived, and people who certainly didn’t care to see her.

“. . Wha-. . . . Who?” She said, dumbfounded.

“That maid. Olma,” Gib murmured.

Knollermaiden gasped. 

_Olma._

He was looking for Olma?! 

Knollermaiden was stunned, thinking about it.

“Have- have you found her?” she stuttered blankly, unable to comprehend and start processing what it’d be like to see Olma again after everything that had happened over the years since she’d seen her. Gosh, she was getting overwhelmed.

Knollermaiden’s eyes were wetter than usual.

_Olma?_

Gib shook his head.

Knollermaiden’s stomach sank a little.

“I’ll tell you when I do,” Gib murmured a minute later.

“O- ok,” she breathed, leaning on the edge of the garden bed and grasping it tightly.

Oh gosh. Oh gosh, she was getting emotional. Of course she wanted to see Olma again. Knolermaiden could imagine the old maid’s reaction if she could tell her everything that happened after she left. 

Knollermaiden realized with a start that her uncle had convinced her so well that there was no one else left in the world for her, when she might have just searched for Olma.

Knollermaiden couldn’t imagine Olma being cold and mean to her like everyone else, even after all the mistakes she made with the museum. It was just baffling.

Even if Olma got very upset with her, she wasn’t someone who liked being mean. She was the one who taught Knollermaiden kindness in the first place.

Knollermaiden was staring blankly, remembering that unbearably long time where she felt so overwhelmingly like no one in the world would ever care about her except her Uncle.

Knoller had convinced her so well. Forced her to depend on him. He isolated her.

And Olma was out in the world the whole time. _Lachlan_ was out in the world the whole time. Oh gosh, _Gib_ was right there too! Gib was near, and he clearly cared about her, he stood up for her, he defended her, he fought Knoller because he decided he cared about _her!_

Knollermaiden was stunned. She realized she’d never properly thanked Gib for defending her. He got _hurt_ on her behalf, and she didn’t even say thank you, oh gosh-, what kind of an awful person was she?!

That should have been the first thing on her mind when she saw him. Instead, she got worried about others spotting him and freaking out. What was wrong with her?

Knollermaiden felt overwhelming guilt, enough to get her all choked up. It felt like her throat had closed and she could barely begin to form the words.

Gib seemed to notice her starting to look very distressed. She could feel her eyes watering so bad and she tried to hold it back, so sick of crying all the time, so sick of being too emotional, especially after what all the tears did to the fur under her eyes around her cheeks.

Gib looked confused and worried. She could see the silent question in his face. She could read him so well. 

_What’s wrong?_

Knollermaiden tried to form words. It took a few tries.

“I. . . . I never said thank you,” her voice was gravely and sort of high, clearly choked up.

Gib cocked his head in confusion.

“You- defended me, you stop- stopped him from hitting me,” she blubbered. “You fought him, and you got hurt, and I never even said thank you,” she could barely hold back a sob. She gripped the edge of the garden bed tighter, fighting desperately to steady herself.

Gib looked like he had no idea what to do. He’d never been adept at handling emotional things. He never liked hugging. He seemed baffled. 

“It’s ok,” He said awkwardly, but sounding genuine, though still confused. “Don't have to thank me. I’d do it again,” he shrugged, talking rather quietly.

Knollermaiden had no idea what to say. She tried to calm herself, tried to stop crying. He really didn’t seem upset about it at all.

_He’d do it again?_

He would defend her again? He’d get in a fight for her again? Knollermaiden didn’t ever want him to have to get hurt on her behalf, didn’t ever want to cause him pain, but he was just ready and willing to do it again?

It made her incredibly warm and mushy inside. She was only getting even more overwhelmed.

She remembered something he’d said that day. That terrifying day.

_“You lost me when you threatened the last person alive I’ve actually grown attached to.”_

The last person alive? 

That made her sort of freeze up and pause.

He had no one else in the entire world? Was he completely alone? Knollermaiden knew all about loneliness. She didn’t want him to feel like that.

“Gib,- . . . If you. . If you’re ever lonely, you can come find me,” Knollermaiden said, her voice still rather high. She wiped at her face again, managing a smile at the end.

Gib looked a little surprised and maybe even a tad sheepish. He nodded a little.

She could see a hint of a smile on him and it made her happy.

A sound reached their ears. They could hear Snorkmaiden coming back. Knollermaiden looked towards the back door, losing her train of thought. She looked back towards Gib, but he was gone. She was rather startled. She hadn’t heard him going at all. She didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye.

She was staring rather blankly at the spot he’d occupied just minutes ago. She glanced around, eyes kinda wide.

The back door creaked as it opened and Snorkmaiden came outside. 

“Well. Nothing exploded. The house isn’t on fire. He has a bit of a mess to clean up, but it seems everything’s fine,” Snorkmaiden huffed a little, shaking her head. 

Knollermaiden nodded absently.

“. . . Hey, you ok?” Snorkmaiden said a bit confusedly, sounding a little concerned.

“Hm? . . Oh. Yeah, I’m fine,” Knollermaiden said a bit airily, wiping her face again, feeling a bit dazed as she went back to spreading out mulch for the plants. 

“. . Did something happen? Do you want to take a break?” Snorkmaiden said hesitantly. 

Knollermaiden was pulled away from her thoughts some. “No, no I’m really fine. Besides, we’re almost done,” she said, managing to be cheerful.

Snorkmaiden still seemed concerned, but she decided to trust her. They finished up the work a little while later, and they started putting the gardening stuff away.

Before they went inside, Knollermaiden found herself hesitating on the porch, looking around slowly, every which way.

She wondered how long it would be till the next time she got to see him. She was already starting to miss him. Would it be a very long time? Would he manage to find Olma? What if she was very far away? What if Gib was searching far away for a whole year?

The more she thought, the more she wished Gib hadn’t left so suddenly. She wished she could have at least offered a proper goodbye, and asked when he’d be back, or _something._

That was just how Gib functioned though, she supposed. He didn’t give much thought to goodbyes. It felt likely that he wouldn’t know when he was going to be back anyway.

Oh well, there was nothing to be done now. 

The day went on and Knollermaiden could barely take her mind off of it, but she still didn’t mention to anyone that she’d seen Gib.

…

More time passed and the time for hibernation grew steadily closer.

Days were pretty relaxed as they started getting ready. Knollermaiden still thought about Gib often, and Olma too.

She made more treats and helped Moominmamma collect pine needles one day.

She drifted around from thought to thought as life carried on around her.

One morning Knollermaiden was making breakfast for Snorkmaiden, Snork, and herself, and she decided to go the extra mile and make a really nice one. She hummed sometimes as she worked, and Snorkmaiden came in and helped with tea and setting the table, and they chatted.

Snorkmaiden was kind of impressed at the food Knollermaiden was making and Knollermaiden got all happy and flustered just like when people complimented her baked goods.

It was nice.

Eventually, someone knocked on the door and Snorkmaiden got up to answer it while Knollermaiden was finishing up with the last few things and cleaning up after herself. 

Knollermaiden hummed a tune as she went, feeling rather proud of herself looking at the spread on the table. 

It wasn’t _too_ big or too grand, but it was nice and she thought Snork and Snorkmaiden both would really like it. 

She washed up the pans and dishes she’d used making it, wondering if she should go up and see if Snork was awake or not. She didn’t really want to bother him if he was still sleeping. It gave her way more anxiety than was good for her. Maybe Snorkmaiden would do it?

Knollermaiden found herself stalling and kind of just standing around after she was done and there was nothing else to get out or put away. Breakfast was ready. She ended up zoning out and getting lost in thought for a little while.

Snorkmaiden had been out for a while now. Knollermaiden wondered who might be at the door. Whatever could be taking so long?

Knollermaiden had put covers over the hot food to keep it warm, so she wasn’t _too_ worried about it getting cold.

She supposed she could just go out and see who it was.

So, still humming thoughtlessly, she walked out to the living room. The front door was closed. She could only just barely catch the sounds of voices outside. 

How peculiar. Knollermaiden supposed it was cold enough not to leave the door open if Snorkmaiden was conversing with whoever had knocked, but then why not let them inside? It would be more comfortable to talk inside where it was warmer. What could be going on?

Knollermaiden grew hesitant as she got closer. She stalled right in front of the door. Should she interrupt? Maybe it would be better to just wait.

The voices were clearer and Knollermaiden lost her train of thought, a bit startled when she noticed the voices outside sounded rather annoyed and a little hostile. 

“-If you really cared about her, why did you wait this long? Why were you rude in the first place back then? Why did you ignore her so much?” Snorkmaiden sounded accusing and rather flat.

“What are you- Hmph! I don’t know. That’s all in the past anyway. It’s not important right now. Do you know where she is or not?” the other voice said, sounding very annoyed. It sounded like a girl, and the voice was weirdly familiar to Knollermaiden.

“I find it very important right now. What are you _really_ after here?” Snorkmaiden raised her voice a little, getting aggravated. “If you really cared about her “well being”, if you were actually a good friend, you wouldn’t have abandoned her back then. You wouldn’t have joined in on being rude and ignoring her. Do you even realize how horrible you made her feel? She was completely _abandoned_. For _months_. And she never did anything to you!”

The familiar voice was sputtering a bit. “She- she was-, Her Uncle kidnapped and _imprisoned_ countless creatures. How is that not sketchy? How do you know she wasn’t in on it? You want to know why I really traveled all this way?” the voice sounded exasperated and grumpy, but in a weirdly polite way that only an entitled person could pull off.

Snorkmaiden started to say something, but the other girl cut her off, almost like she didn’t even realize she was doing it. 

“I think she _was_ in on it. I think she’s working with him. For months, _every_ four days she came to town and bought food. She was very consistent. It took me ages to realize just how much food she was getting. _Way_ more than reasonable for one person. Then she just up and disappeared without a trace after my friend’s family heirloom was stolen,” she said in a conspiratorial tone.

Snorkmaiden tried to speak again in the pause, but the other girl was caught up in her conspiracy and cut her off again.

“If you know where she is, I _need_ to talk to her. I’ll be polite. It won’t be _too_ difficult getting her to tell me where he is, she’s not the brightest person around, and it’s for a good cause,” the girl said sternly.

Snorkmaiden paused, conceivably just to see if she was about to get cut off again or if she’d actually be heard this time.

“You poor, ignorant soul,” Snorkmaiden muttered exasperatedly. “First of all, Knoller’s dead. Suppose you haven’t looked at a newspaper since you left on this weird journey, since there was a story just the other day, but whatever. Second of all, Knollermaiden was as much a victim as the museum creatures. She was manipulated from the start and even imprisoned herself for a while. Third o-”

“ _Dead?_ How did y- What ar-” the familiar voice sputtered exasperatedly and shocked.

“I wasn’t finished,” Snorkmaiden said, sounding increasingly aggravated. “ _Third of all_ , you have been incredibly rude to both her and me now. She is much brighter than you think, and it’s insulting to hear you say such things about her. You need to leave. You’re _not_ interested in her well being, and you know it. You were lying as soon as you said it.”

Knollermaiden was as white as a sheet listening in. It was weird hearing people talking about you. It was weird hearing one of her old friends arguing and theorizing about her being in on the kidnapping. It was weirdly heartwarming hearing Snorkmaiden get all defensive on her behalf.

Knollermaiden didn’t know what to do. She started backing away inch by inch, uncomfortable at how long she’d been eavesdropping without even noticing. It was a very rude thing to do, wasn’t it.

She drifted over to the couch nearby where she couldn’t make out any of what they were saying.

She sat down rather quietly, staring a bit blankly as the words swirled around in her head.

She remembered the name that went with the voice by now. One of her old friends that stopped hanging out with her after the paper put out that first story about Knoller.

Knollermaiden was feeling weirdly somber and still. Her thoughts drifted for quite a while, getting tangled and whatnot. 

A little while later Snorkmaiden came back in, shaking her head a little. She closed the door firmly and looked a little startled to see Knollermaiden sitting silently in the living room.

It wasn’t like Knollermaiden had ever hidden her emotions very well. Snorkmaiden could likely tell something was up.

“. . . Have you seen the newspaper from the other day?” Snorkmaiden asked a bit timidly. 

Knollermaiden pondered a minute. She knew which one she was talking about. She paused a minute, thinking of something.

“. . . . I think so,” Knollermaiden stood up slowly, absently smoothing down her dress. “I. . . I can take it to her,” she said a bit quietly and very somber.

Snorkmaiden had a knowing look on her face. “How much did you hear?” She asked, a little awkwardly.

Knollermaiden wasn’t sure how to answer that. She stalled for a minute.

“Enough,” she murmured a bit later, voice lightening. 

She remembered where the newspaper was. There was a pile on top of one of the cupboards in the kitchen with a bunch of things left to be taken care of, and the newspaper was probably in that pile. 

Knollermaiden started drifting back towards the kitchen when Snorkmaiden came up and grabbed her arm.

“Are you sure you want to talk to her? She was rather rude. I don’t think she’s worth your time,” Snorkmaiden said, sounding concerned and a little bitter. 

Knollermaiden nodded slowly, but surely. 

“I’ve known her for years. She can be. . . A bit much. But she’s not all bad. And even if she doesn’t like me, I can still be me, and I can still be kind,” Knollermaiden said a bit softly at first, but getting more sure of herself as she went on.

Snorkmaiden still didn’t seem sure. “You’re really sure?”

Knollermaiden smiled distantly at the ground. She sighed. “Yeah. I’m sure.” Then she looked up a bit, adding on more for herself. Her voice was steady. 

“I can do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy do I have a lot of thoughts! \ (•ヮ•) / Oh my _gosh_ these notes got _long?!_ Why must I be so wordy?
> 
> As you can see, these guys still need a lot of time to get over some things. Many of them need time to heal. Knollermaiden still needs to work on and overcome a lot of self hate thoughts. Snufkin's going to have a lot of paranoia to battle.  
> But both of them have people who love them that they can count on for help, love, and support!  
> 
> 
> So, you remember last chapter when I mentioned I needed help designing a character? Well, that character is Olma! Yeah, I'm stumped on how to draw her. I don't know what kind of creature she would be. Would she be more humanoid? Would she be less humanoid? I have no idea. All I have is a personality. And I've written a one-shot that features her and a tiny Knollermaiden that I'm going to post _today_ that you can look forward to!! If you do want to help design her, you should read it so you know what she's like :D
> 
> On a different note, I think I need to take a little break from this series for a little while. I still have more ideas for it, but I need to make sure I don't burn out and I have other projects I need to work on.
> 
> I'm still kind of excited about these other ideas! ◦°˚\\(*❛ヮ❛)/˚°◦  
> One of them is about Knollermaiden and it involves her running into Lachlan. .  
> One follows Jenny and Quinn! That one is fraught with peril. . . He, he. . I didn't really get to do much with them in this story. They just didn't fit into the climax I suppose so they had to stay behind.  
> And another one follows Snufkin mainly again. This is another one that might be fraught with peril, but don't worry. I'm not going to throw him straight into another terrible experience, he's going to have time to heal some from this one and he's not going to endure most of the trauma. That's going to be someone else. . . But I won't tell you who. It's an OC you haven't met yet anyway. ^̮^
> 
> So if you enjoyed this series there's more you can look forward to, but it might be a long wait. It might be very long. I'm not sure. And I have absolutely no idea which of the ideas above I'll start on first. I might pick one and then gravitate more towards another, or I might almost finish one but get stuck and finish a different one first, I have no idea. 
> 
> If you want you can follow me on TikTok! I can be quite erratic and all over the place with my content ideas, with music, and drawing, and a random one about a duck egg I found in my yard, one introducing stuffed animals, fairies, and birds that live in my room, and future plans for baking and writing tips. Maybe I should make rose meringues? They're seriously really good. (Edit to update: Yes I made the rose meringues. You can see on my tiktok :D)
> 
> Speaking of rose meringues, Knollermaiden made some as you might remember, and speaking of Knollermaiden, I did a _speedraw_ of her! :D 
> 
> My TikTok username is deborah.jean if you want to search it.
> 
> I'm on Wattpad too. Right now I have copies of my Rare Specimen series on there, as well as one short original work I made almost a year ago for a writing prompt if you want to check it out. On there I'm @DeborahJean2ofClubs
> 
> And I also have a few youtube videos too (•́_•́;) I have three songs on there and two "storytime" sort of videos. On there I'm Deborah Jean.
> 
> So yeah, I'm very all over the place. >_>
> 
> Thank you all so much for all your comments, and kudos, and _fanart_ , I'm seriously floored at the amount of love this series has gotten! Thank you!! !!!!!
> 
> And as always, remember to drink water! Stay hydrated people! (You too Amelia.)
> 
> (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ _water_ ✧ﾟ･: *


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